The Lost and Found
by nostratic
Summary: A night out. A hangover. Sasuke Uchiha realizes that this is definitely not one of the high points of his life. Thank god for denial. AU.
1. Prologue

Yo. Possibly boyxboy, so you've been warned. Obviously, I own nothing. First Naruto fic. I'll try to actually see it through, since for the first time in a long time I have absolutely nothing to do (for three months at that). I be bored. Enjoy, munchkins.

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Sasuke Uchiha's first thought upon awakening was a quiet little query as to in what moment in time his pillow had been replaced by floorboard.

Gradually, he remembered that he had eyelids that should, for his convenience, be eventually opened and was subsequently rewarded with an unusual perspective of his hallway and a sharp pain in the head as the dry morning light streamed through his open bedroom door and hit him straight in the face. It was this portion of his body, slightly flattened at the moment, that he had to peel off the floor with a groan so that he could ever so tenderly lift himself up and sit back against the wall, rubbing his eyes.

Why, he asked the deities that apparently resided next to that brown smudge on the ceiling (since this was where he was adamantly staring at the moment, with a petulant twist to his mouth), why couldn't I pass out three seconds later? As in, not in the hallway?

His brain was throbbing, his mouth felt dry and acrid, and his left arm was still asleep; but all plans for gentle, slow movement (preferably involving not moving for the rest of the day) had to be abandoned when he felt an uncomfortable tightening in his abdomen and the sting of bile climbing up his throat. A few minutes later, following a hands-and-knees scramble to the restroom, found Sasuke Uchiha hugging the cool surface of the toilet and wrinkling his nose at the newly added contents.

It would appear, he thought with remorse, I have a hangover.

It was another twenty minutes before he was certain that even if he continued to retch and gag, there was absolutely nothing left in his stomach that was in danger of finding its way to the floor. He swayed shakily to his feet, knuckles white as he gripped the countertop, and inhaled sharply as a wave of nausea protested his new position. Steeling himself against the sensation, he glanced at his reflection; it was a rather unique shade of pasty, and was it just him or were the bags under his eyes cast in the most beautiful of purples?

His hair certainly rivaled the back-ends of various avian species. He poked at it for a while, warily as though the tangled black locks would consume his fingers, but presently gave up.

He wiped clear the disgruntled frown that glared back at him, schooling his features into acceptable Uchiha indifference, and proceeded to stumble his way back to his bedroom in pursuit of a change of clothes. Eau de stale beer and vomit was not preferable for a Thursday morning.

He only tripped once throughout the lengthy journey (a feat he considered worthy of congratulations) and when he finally paused before his open closet he was thinking that maybe he felt up to leaving the house and would not be subject to an entire twenty-four hours of toilet hugging after all. He was only a little shaky at this point, and as long as he didn't look down he probably (probably) wouldn't feel like throwing up again.

Picking out his favorite drainpipes, he threw on some worn chucks and a gray blazer Itachi had left behind, and glanced out the window into the cheery little street below his apartment building. Really, he thought as he stretched and yawned, it can only get better from here, right? The world is an oyster and all that jazz.

But then (and like a freight train it arrived) he remembered what day it was.

So quickly bringing up his right hand to stare at his fingers, then checking all the pockets of the clothes he had just left discarded on the floor, scouring his bedside cabinet, sprinting back to the restroom and gazing wildly around (he even looked in the toilet), scampering back and dropping down to inch along the hallway floor, and finally resting his head somewhere between his knees, the umbrella stand, and the wall with a muttered "fuck!," Sasuke Uchiha began to comprehend just how much the world hates him.

Some time later, he remembered that his state of 'fucked' could get much worse in a few hours time. And so he jumped to his feet, pausing for a moment to try and get the walls to stop tilting over, and grabbing his keys and wallet ran out of his apartment, slamming the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 1

Hey so this baby's turning out to be pretty hefty. Here's chapter one for youse. Enjoy.

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**C H A P T E R O N E **

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Thud thud thud! THUD THUD THUD THUD.

Naruto Uzumaki, who had been previously and rather impressively sprawled out over his corduroy living room couch, a little trail of drool running from the corner of his mouth with a hearty snore breaking the silence ever so often, was startled from his peaceful slumber into a graceful heap on the floor by a furious knocking that seemed (in his slightly groggy and confused state) to be coming from the front door of his apartment.

Although his proximity to the carpeting offered him quite a splendid view of the dust bunnies under his couch, he groaned and pushed himself to his knees so he could shout out a slightly incoherent "Waihhgt upp" to the early morning offender who seemed intent on buying him a new door. After multiple struggles, he managed to successfully balance himself on two feet (quite the feat) and stumble over to the front door. He leaned against it for a moment, the cool wood soothing his sweaty forehead, before stepping back and swinging it open.

Sasuke Uchiha stood before him, hands stuffed in his pockets, slouched, and sporting a particularly forbidding demeanor. His dark eyes flickered as he eyed Naruto up and down.

"Why, hello Sasuke." Naruto said in all seriousness. Then he broke out into a grin so wide you'd think eating shit was its prize-winning profession.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, with his usual eloquence.

"Do come in."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and brushed past Naruto into the apartment, pausing at the lumpy old couch to award the room a cursory glare before turning to stare at the eighteen year old blonde he had the misfortune of calling his friend. Said boy was dressed in nothing but a ratty pair of sweatpants and old t-shirt that read 'Konoha High Decathlon.' Sasuke smirked.

"Gaara's going to want his clothes back, Naruto. They hardly fit you."

"Same goes for you, pool boy. I don't recall having come up with the idea to go swimming, drunk, at three in the morning."

"Kiba pushed me, idiot. You're the one that felt the need to go jumping in to keep me company."

"I wouldn't have if you hadn't passed out, bastard!"

"I didn't pass out."

"No, of course not. You just thought it would be fun to drown yourself while acting as if you were unconscious."

"Hn." Sasuke fell quiet again and began to stare at Naruto's right foot with an unprecedented amount of interest. "Whatever," he muttered.

Naruto beamed. "You're welcome." After a moment of silence he paused in his inner victory dance to purse his lips and announce: "I could go for some breakfast."

"Naruto." Sasuke interrupted the other boy's fantasies.

"Huh?"

"I…I can't find my ring." His lips were drawn thin and his eyes were downcast as if he were mortified that an Uchiha, of all people, could have misplaced anything.

"Your…ring?" Naruto lifted an eyebrow. "What ring?"

"My Uchiha crest ring, idiot." When Naruto's expression of befuddlement seemed to have no intention of leaving his face, Sasuke felt obliged to add, "The pure silver ring with the gemstone crest on it? The one worth five grand? The one that used to be my father's? The one I'm _always wearing_?"

"Oh. That ring." Naruto grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "That is a problem."

Sasuke flopped onto the couch and held his face in his hands. "What the fuck?" came a muffled voice from somewhere in his vicinity.

Naruto bit his lip. He tapped his foot nervously. He scratched his left elbow. The silence was dragging on, tense and heavy.

He shut the still open door with a thud and ambled over to where Sasuke was sitting hunched on the couch and, standing over him with arms crossed, said quietly, "We could, uh, call around and…you know. Like, call Gaara. Or Tsunade. Maybe you left it at Tsunade's…I mean, it's not like you need it immediately, right? You'll get it back eventually…" he trailed off with a weak chuckle at Sasuke's murderous expression, now peeking out at him over white-knuckled fists.

"Naruto."

"Yes?"

"I do hope that somewhere in that tiny brain of yours, you know what day it is?"

"Uhh…" Naruto stared down at Sasuke, a little crease between his brows, before his eyes widened comically. "Oh yeah…that." But then his forehead furrowed again, his lips drawn in a frown. "What the hell does your ring have to do with the graduation ceremony?"

Sasuke dropped his hands into his lap and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes grimly. "Itachi," he growled.

"Ahh…" Naruto exhaled, letting out a low whistle. "Him." He nodded at the connection he made in his head. "He's flying in for your speech."

"Congratulations. You're not completely hopeless."

"Shut up, asshole. I'm trying to help here. So…" Naruto lifted his eyebrows in a hopeful expression, "what are the chances of him forgiving you for losing the precious three-handled family gredunza like the kind, understanding brother he is?"

Sasuke glared. "Idiot." He turned to graciously bestow his stormy features on Naruto's wall with a haughty lift of the chin. "And I didn't lose it. I just don't know where it is at the moment."

Naruto sat down on the coffee table directly in front of Sasuke, staring with blank blue eyes, until Sasuke was forced to turn back from his study of the wallpaper.

"What?" he snapped.

Naruto's lips twitched. "Whatever do you mean?"

Sasuke sighed, but it came out like a growl. "Fine. I lost it." He scowled mulishly at Naruto's innocent expression for a while in silence before standing up suddenly in order to shuffle around the couch, cross the room, and disappear behind the kitchen door.

Naruto stared at a little scratch he had on the back of his right hand, calling out after the boy, "What are you going to do?"

"Find it," came the dull response along with what sounded like random groceries being roughly tossed around in his refrigerator. "Before Itachi sees me."

Naruto rose and followed, kicking open the door so he could lean against the entrance, arms crossed. Sasuke's head bobbed up from behind the fridge door, taking a gulp from a bottle of water. He glanced at Naruto briefly while rinsing and then turned his back to spit out into the sink.

"Dude, gross."

Sasuke ignored him. "Itachi will notice immediately if I'm not wearing the ring. And he'll know I'm lying when I tell him I just forgot it or something." He leaned against the counter and crossed his own arms, all business. "He's going directly to the ceremony from the airport. We won't actually see him until it's over, but I have to deliver my speech and I doubt Iruka would be pleased if you didn't show up. It starts at seven p.m. It is now," Sasuke checked his watch, "Nine forty-six in the morning. Which gives us roughly nine hours to find my ring." He looked back up at Naruto as if expecting a salute and a resounding 'sir!'

Instead Naruto nodded slowly, eyebrows raised, lips pursed. He pushed himself off the doorway in order to stretch luxuriously, letting out a wide-mouthed yawn for all who cared to see.

The twitch in Sasuke's left eye seems to be making a come back, he noted vaguely.

At Sasuke's angry silence he dropped his arms and asked pleasantly, "Well. How do you suppose we'll do that, mein führer?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "We'll just have to retrace our steps, won't we?" he bit out. "Go get dressed."

Naruto grinned amusedly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, almost visibly deflating, and seemed to find something of interest near the corner of the kitchen. "I, uh…well you know I'm not exactly a heavyweight," he muttered, "and, well, I can't really remember…" His eyes flickered quickly at Naruto, then back to the corner.

Naruto's grin was now oddly frozen in place.

"Oh fuck you." Sasuke snorted, no longer wanting to deal with the discomfort that asking for help necessarily entails.

"Sure."

"Sure?" Now it was Sasuke's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Sure I'll help you find your ring. You know you're welcome, so no need to thank me." Naruto slouched and rocked back on his heels, thoughtful. He looked back up at Sasuke. "Let me go get dressed." He smiled and summarily left the kitchen.

Sasuke bit his lip and looked down.

He remained unmoving for a few moments, alone in Naruto's kitchen, eyes running repeatedly over the same monotone expanse of tile that gleamed a sickly green under the cheap fluorescent lighting.

Eventually his lips twisted into an irritated scowl and he brusquely chugged down the rest of the water, tossing it into the trash bin at the end of the counter, and stalked back to the living room. Pausing to glance around at its sparse contents. Leaning against the dilapidated couch. Ankles crossed. His mood worsened.

It wasn't until Naruto was standing a few feet away from him that he pulled himself out of his brooding. Naruto ignored his scowl, accustomed to Sasuke's mood swings, and cleared his throat. He was dressed in the usual skinny jeans, a tight punk hoodie, and...

"Are those loafers?" Sasuke asked, incredulous. He couldn't help the snigger that escaped him, his foul mood forgotten.

"Shut up. You're just bitter because you're not naturally stylish like I am."

"The fuck? Going Vogue on me?"

"The fact that you even _know_ that these were featured…"

At this Sasuke laughed outright. Naruto grinned back, unabashed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked at Naruto's feet again, a question on the tip of his tongue. "Naruto…" he started, hesitant.

Naruto searched Sasuke's face expectantly when he fell silent. "Oh, do feel free to continue."

"Shut up, idiot. I was going to ask you..." he trailed off again. "I was going to ask if you'd talked to Iruka lately?" he finished, words fitting strangely in his mouth.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. He understood what Sasuke was really asking, and understood it completely. So he smiled a little smile and replied, "Yeah, he's worried about me too. Won't stop calling, actually…" He frowned and looked absently at the ugly potted cactus that currently graced the coffee table. "He was a little touchy at first, about me wanting to move out and try living on my own. But I've been doing okay for the past couple of months. Meeting the rent and all." He shrugged. "I think he gets it now. That I really just couldn't deal with being a burden anymore." At Sasuke's answering glare he grinned. "What? Aren't _we_ sentimental today? I always knew I had found my first devoted fan in you, Sasuke."

Sasuke scoffed but didn't turn away, maintaining his silent stare until Naruto's grin faded and his lips twisted into a slightly annoyed grimace.

"I don't need any money, Sasuke," he said seriously.

Sasuke remained emotionless but continued to look Naruto straight in the eye for a few seconds before nodding once and pushing off from his perch on the back of the couch, strolling over to the front door with his hands stuffed in his pockets again. "I'm driving" he announced briefly. "My car is nicer," he added with a smirk.

"Cocky bastard," Naruto replied, smile back in place. "Fine. But we're getting breakfast first. My memory improves in direct proportion to the amount of food in my stomach."

"If only the rest of your brain functions reacted the same way."

"You're an ass. Let's go. Food first."

Sasuke led the way out of the apartment, pausing in the musty outer hallway while Naruto flicked off all the lights and locked the door, jogging to catch up to him. Halfway down the dimly lit stairwell, however, Naruto paused with his right foot still hanging a few inches above the next step. "Wait! When are we going to give Gaara back his clothes?" he asked the back of Sasuke's head.

Sasuke kept descending the stairs. "No time."

"I could just run up and get them. We'll probably see him today anyway."

"Nine fucking hours, Naruto. Ticking away."

"Whatever." Naruto grumbled as he continued following Sasuke down the remaining two stories and out the rusting metal door into the morning glare of the street. A cool breeze strange for this time of year sneaked under Naruto's hoodie, making him shiver. A garbage truck rumbled by the concrete building, leaving a sickly sweet stench and a trail of yellowed newspapers in the stained road.

Sasuke took out his keys and clicked the remote lock. The lights on the sleek black Mazda flashed twice and Naruto stepped over the indeterminate soggy trash in the gutter and strolled over to the passenger door, looking around at the empty gray road. A woman was walking briskly up the opposite side of the street, huddled in her black jacket.

Ducking his head under the low roof, Naruto sat down on the spotless leather seat. Sasuke was already buckled up, key shoved in the ignition, drumming his fingers impatiently on the wheel.

The moment Naruto closed the door he threw it into drive and pulled out of the tight parking spot in a single swerve, tires squealing as he hit the accelerator.

"You're just asking to get your car stolen if you keep parking around here." Naruto informed him, gripping the seat.

"I'm not taking the goddamn bus to your place, if that's what you're implying."

"I'm not implying that at all."

Sasuke grunted and passed a beat up Cadillac that was going half the speed limit. Sunlight glinted off the muggy, scratched windows of the dingy shops that lined the road. "So…where?" He glanced sideways at Naruto's lack of a response. "Well?"

"Colorado and Main."

"What?" Sasuke turned to look at Naruto again, frowning. "What the hell for?"

But Naruto was staring out the window, suddenly at attention. "Hey! Pull over!"

Sasuke followed his line of vision towards the sidewalk and spotted a wiry boy, punk ponytail high on his head and cigarette hanging from his lips, leaning against the brick wall of a grocer's. He groaned irately.

"Come on! Pull over!"

Sasuke sighed and seeing as there was nobody in the street anyway simply came to a stop in the middle of the road, engine purring quietly.

"Hey! Shikamaru!" Naruto, having rolled down the window and tucked his elbow outside, was now waving frantically to catch the other boy's attention.

Slowly, Shikamaru looked up from what must have been a very interesting rumination on the nature of cracks in the sidewalk and, failing to react at all to Naruto's calls save for a raise of thinly drawn eyebrows, took a long drag of his cigarette.

Naruto apparently took this for enthusiasm at their chance encounter because without so much as a "Sorry for wasting your time, Sasuke, but please wait a moment" he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the car, slamming the door on an indignant Sasuke.

"What the fuck," said boy growled and, deciding he might as well pull over now, honked his horn at a Naruto he wasn't too concerned about running over at the moment.

Naruto quickly jumped out of the parking spot with a "shit!" and a not entirely polite hand gesture directed at the smirking driver.

Shikamaru went back to his contemplation of the sidewalk, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

Sasuke remained still for a few moments when he had finished parking, gazing blankly at the thin back now slouched in front of a bored-looking Shikamaru. Naruto had turned around with an angry frown at his antics, an expression Sasuke didn't see too often.

But then Sasuke plastered on his 'social scowl' (as Naruto liked to call it) and roughly shoved the car door open, stalking up to the curb and reaching the spot where Shikamaru was languidly smoking in the shade of the store awning in time to hear him tell Naruto, "Kiba's buying dog food." He continued with an "And I'm giving him a ride to his sister's. They're meeting up today before the ceremony," enunciating each word deliberately as if they were one and all worthy of a philosophical discourse.

Naruto laughed brightly, craning his head over Shikamaru's shoulder to try and look through the store window. "Kiba _would_ be buying dog food, wouldn't he? I doubt he even has anything in his fridge."

"He doesn't," Shikamaru replied with a shrug. "I was there this morning."

Naruto laughed again, his grin lighting up his features, and rocked back on his heels. Noticing Sasuke's sullen look, though, he stilled and turned back to Shikamaru, now serious. "Oh yeah. Shikamaru, remember Sasuke's ring? The silver one with the Uchiha fan on it?"

Shikamaru stared. "The one he's _always wearing_?" he asked with hint of drawling amusement. Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, that one." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well, you see, he seems to have misplaced it, and uh, we're looking for it. You haven't seen it anywhere, have you?"

Shikamaru frowned and looked down, grinding out his finished cigarette stub. "No…" he said slowly. He seemed to chew on his tongue for a while and then asked, "When was the last time you guys remember seeing it?"

At the question Sasuke stuffed his hands in the pocket of his blazer and looked off down the street, biting his lip, brows furrowed. Naruto looked up at the awning and ran his hand through his mess of hair, deep in concentration.

"Urrmm…" He blew out air through his lips, dropping his arms. "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed after a moment, turning to Sasuke with wide eyes. "Yesterday when me and Sakura were picking you up to go to the movies!"

_… [Flashback]…_

_Naruto readjusted the reflective shiny blob of marble some people refer to as 'postmodern decorative sculpture' for the seventh time in ten minutes, nudging it a millimeter closer to the exact center of the steel and glass coffee table._

_He tapped his foot nervously, but stopped when he remembered that the minimalist leather couch he was seated on was set over a blinding white shag rug._

_The hole on the left knee of his jeans was getting bigger, he noted, picking at it absently._

_He coughed quietly, covering his mouth in a polite manner like Iruka had always reminded him when was a child._

_Not that anybody was in the room to notice._

_It's just that the ridiculous neatness of Sasuke's living room and the fact that it was arranged like the epitome of modern, design-catalogue living made him feel like a certain amount of reserve and formality was expected._

_Finally, the sound of a shower running ceased to carry through the apartment. Naruto craned his head back to glare at the small crack of light under the door at the very end of the hallway and shout out, "About time! Sakura's waiting for us in the car, asshole! We're going to be late to the movie!"_

_The bathroom door swung open and Sasuke padded out barefoot, hair sopping wet and in nothing but a fluffy white towel. He gave Naruto a surly look before entering his bedroom silently and shutting the door behind him._

_Naruto swung his head back to glower at Sasuke's (state-of-the-art) flat-screen television and sound system, muttering something that sounded suspiciously close to "rotten duck-faced bastard."_

_His phone vibrated in his pocket. Sakura again, asking what the hell was taking so long, angry face, triple question mark._

_He was about to reply but the sound of a door opening caused him to turn around again._

_Sasuke hunched out, having replaced his towel with tight black denim, and made his sulky way back to his bathroom after imparting a moody glare on Naruto's seated figure._

_"Remind me again why the hell I'm doing this?" came an irritated voice from beyond the steamy gap of light at the end of the darkened hallway. And then a cabinet being slammed shut and the angry hum of a hair dryer._

_"Dude!" Naruto threw up his hands, exasperated, and scrambled off the pristine couch to storm down the hall, push the bathroom door aside, and scowl at Sasuke, who was standing dejectedly with the dryer pointed at the side of his head, like a revolver. "I assure you, Sasuke, nobody could give less of a rat's ass about the state of your hair. We need to go. NOW."_

_Sasuke glanced at him in the mirror, smirking condescendingly when he noticed Naruto's angry and urgent expression._

_Naruto rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sure it's already been explained to you that this is the last time we get to go out together before we actually graduate. If Sakura wants to go see a movie, then we'll see a goddamn movie. And if she wants to meet up with everyone later for drinks, then we'll fucking do that too." He snorted and pulled out his phone, clicking away on the pad. "You might be valedictorian and all, Sasuke, but most of the time you're just socially retarded," he said, shaking his head at the screen._

_It was Sasuke's turn to snort. "Do you really think I care, Naruto?" he demanded, turning off the dryer._

_At the ringing silence Naruto looked up from his phone. Seeing Sasuke's expression, he bit his lip and searched the pale face for a moment before quietly replying, "No. No I guess not."_

_They stared blankly at each other for a few seconds longer. But then Sasuke turned to put away the dryer, kicking the cabinet door closed, and brushed past Naruto into the hallway as he flicked off the bathroom light, leaving Naruto in darkness._

_He groaned, stuffing his phone back in his pocket, and began shuffling back to the living room, slowly so as to not trip and fall flat on his face. He nudged the marble blob on the coffee table just one more time, and strolled over to the front door to wait._

_Sasuke followed seconds later, now sporting Doc Martins and a longsleeve. Naruto turned to open the door for him but just as Sasuke was passing through he paused, looked up at Naruto, and without a word whirled around and disappeared once again into his bedroom._

_When he finally returned, he was slipping a heavy silver ring with a ruby and white sapphire fan crest onto his right hand, a small frown on his lips._

_Naruto rolled his eyes. "Let's go," he whined childishly._

_Sasuke smirked. "Shut up, idiot."_

_…[End Flashback]…_

Sasuke raised his eyebrows pensively as Naruto finished telling Shikamaru how he had almost left the ring in the apartment the previous night, but had doubled back to get it.

Shikamaru hmm'd in response, frown still in place, and opened his mouth calmly as if he were about to speak but just at that moment Kiba burst out of the grocer's with a rather unnecessary amount of noise, the bell on the door jingling, the giant bags of dog food rustling in his arms. He was yelling something or other at the shop owner but stopped when he noticed Naruto and Sasuke staring at him, looking irate, and broke out in a mischievous grin.

"Well if it isn't the party boys? How's that right hook, Sasuke?" he drawled, winking knowingly at the boy.

A bemused expression now in place, Sasuke turned questioningly towards Naruto, who simply stared back for a moment until realization dawned on him, stretching his eyes wide.

"Sasuke, you don't even remember that?" When Sasuke scowled, Naruto sniggered. "Sasuke, you got into a bar fight last night."

Sasuke blanched. "What?"

"Beat up the other guy pretty good, too, from what I hear. Kiba said he had to pull you off him." Shikamaru interjected.

But Sasuke was busy staring at his right hand, features frozen in a rare moment of surprise. "As a matter of fact," he said slowly, looking up at Naruto, "I do remember seeing a fan-shaped mark on some guy's cheek." His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at his hand again. "It was red," he muttered.

Kiba cackled excitedly, dropping his bags. "Shit! I guess you left him something to remember you by, huh Sasuke!" he whooped, clapping Sasuke roughly on the back and ignoring him when he was shrugged off irritably. Naruto was chortling, gripping his sides.

"Well, that narrows it down," Shikamaru announced thoughtfully into the bustle of teenage testosterone. The three boys quieted dramatically and turned to look at him. Shikamaru addressed Sasuke. "When did you realize you had lost it?"

"This morning, in my apartment." Sasuke replied sullenly.

Shikamaru nodded once. "That means you should be able to find your ring, with all luck, in one of the locations you visited between your bar fight last night at…" he raised his eyebrows expectantly at Naruto, who glanced back dumbly before starting and rubbing his neck again.

"Uhh…that was like at one in the morning, I think." He bit his lip.

"So sometime between then and when you woke up this morning." Shikamaru continued, facing Sasuke. "I know you ended up at Gaara's at some point, around four if I'm not mistaken, because I was there with Temari. You should include his place when you decide where to look. Besides that, you're on your own," he finished frankly.

Sasuke remained withdrawn, seemingly pondering his predicament with his eyes on the floor.

Kiba looked at each of the now silent boys in turn, leering manically. "Well, uh, sorry to interrupt the strategic meeting and all but we're getting together later for drinks again, right? You know, celebrate our grad…"

Sasuke cut him off shortly with a sneer and smart one-eighty. "Let's go," he called to Naruto over his shoulder as he strode back to his car.

"Hey!" Kiba shouted indignantly at the receding back. "You're not still mad about me pushing you into Gaara's pool, are you? It was a joke, man! Fuck!"

Naruto started off after Sasuke, waving weakly at a fuming Kiba and a once-again bored Shikamaru. "He's not mad," he assured, stepping off the curb. "Just uh, you know, thanks. We'll see you later!" With that he jumped into the passenger seat and, slamming shut the door, they backed out and squealed away.

Sasuke was gripping the steering wheel tightly as he swerved around slower cars, features set in an incensed grimace. He glanced once at Naruto, who was smiling serenely at the impressive number of disgruntled drivers Sasuke had managed to cut off in a matter of minutes.

"What bar were we in anyway?" Sasuke barked, breaking the thick silence.

"Hokage's" Naruto replied blandly. "But stop by Colorado and Main first. It's on the way anyway and there's a bakery there. We still haven't gotten breakfast." He turned to look at Sasuke, wearing the closest thing to a smirk he had ever seen on his face.

Sasuke didn't reply, save for a growl, but when they reached Main Street he turned left accordingly.

"Hurry up," he muttered, pulling into a spot in front of the cozy little bakery. Naruto grinned and stepped out of the car, disappearing briskly behind the shop door with his hands jammed in his pockets.

Sasuke looked at his hands. They seemed to be trying to squeeze his steering wheel into some form of avant-garde junk art, entirely without his permission. Hesitantly, he released his grip, dropping his hands into his lap. He looked outside the window.

Trees lined the street, the bright green leaves glinting with the rustling morning breeze. This was the nicer, older part of town; here the sidewalk was not concrete but patterned red brick and the warm scent of coffee and cinnamon wafted through the open passenger window. Cars whizzed by lazily every so often. The sun was already getting hot.

Sasuke sighed shakily and rested his head against his window. Tonight, he'd see Itachi again for the first time after two years, and the idea was beginning to sink in.

I'm fucked, he thought blankly.

But a few minutes later he saw Naruto push his way out of the bakery by the shoulder, juggling a brown paper bag and two cups of coffee in a carton holder, smiling cheekily at an elderly lady he had accidentally bumped into.

And Sasuke found himself smirking despite all his problems.

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Aha! 2 be continood!!!one11teh one

I wouldn't mind the occasional review. In the slightest.

--nostratic


	3. Chapter 2

Ok so I've been busy! I originally wrote this chapter and the next one as one but it was freaking massive so I split it. Unevenly, though, so the next one is still pretty huge.

Enjoy. (standard disclaimers apply)

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**C H A P T E R T W O **

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"God, I love a good doughnut," Naruto managed to mumble out over his bulging cheeks. He was busily licking his fingers with the occasional resounding 'smack,' coffee cup propped up tenderly between his thighs and apparently too otherwise occupied to notice his companion's fuming, bordering on self-combustive, scowl.

But after a moment of silence he glanced up innocently at Sasuke's glare. "What? It's not like I didn't get you anything! Open the bag!" He shoved it onto Sasuke's lap. "Go on!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "Naruto," he said, just a little too calmly to be safe, "you're eating."

The other boy snorted, apparently amused. "Why Sasuke, you're especially bright today! When did you learn big words like that?"

"In my car."

"Now that's," Naruto swallowed, a teasing smile playing on his crumb-specked lips, "that's what I call exceptional use of a prepositional phrase, Sasuke." He grinned broadly, turning to face his displeased friend, the sun-warmed breeze lifting his back hairs lazily so that his face was enveloped in a shadowed silhouette eclipsing the bright and hot view of the street beyond him, blending him into the dimness of the car's interior.

He looked ridiculous.

Sasuke held his irked scowl for only a few seconds more before breaking out into (restrained, dignified) snickers. "You've got a little something there, Naruto," he motioned vaguely with a finger at his lips, shoulders shaking with quiet laughter.

Naruto rubbed at his mouth, unaffected, eyes still on Sasuke. In fact, he was grinning more widely.

"Seriously, though." Sasuke resumed somberly once he had collected himself. "You're cleaning up the mess. And there are napkins for a reason, idiot!" He exclaimed a little loudly when he noticed Naruto was once again licking his fingers, having finished his second jelly doughnut.

"What? Chill! And eat your damn breakfast already!" Naruto brushed off Sasuke's irritation. "I bought it especially for you," he added in a wheedling falsetto, deciding for some unfathomable reason to include that annoying pout of his that was _anything_ but cute. Quite the opposite actually.

Sasuke snorted disgustedly, seriously doubting that he would want to eat anything that Naruto could have possibly picked out unless he felt up to undergoing cardiac arrest anytime soon. But he opened the stiff brown paper bag and peeked tentatively inside.

A bagel.

A bagel, because Naruto knows Sasuke doesn't like sweets.

It was wheat, cut in half lengthwise, and lightly toasted. With a little pack of cream cheese on the side to be aggregated to taste.

He almost smiled, almost frowned in a vexation he couldn't quite explain at the moment; so he settled for a look of twisted surprise as he glanced up at Naruto whose own features were currently blank as he tapped the second cup of coffee he had brought with him, the one he had set into the center cupholder.

"And that one's for you. Black."

Sasuke remained mute, seemingly at a loss. After a moment he cleared his throat and moved to pull out the bagel, the bag rustling too loudly in the silence of the car. He stared at it as he held it gingerly by the fingertips, acting for all the world as if it was a bomb ready to detonate, and took a small nibble.

"Thanks," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

He glanced sideways at Naruto, who was cheerfully biting into his third and final doughnut as he bounced his knee to some imaginary tune and absently watched a middle-aged man in a white t-shirt jog slowly past with his Labrador.

He had turned around questioningly at Sasuke's attempt at gratitude. "Huh? Oh yeah, no problem dude." He grinned, taking another bite.

They ate in silence for a while, Sasuke taking the lack of questionable activity in his stomach to signify that his bagel was really quite acceptable.

But after a few extended minutes of the same, it was starting to get a little too quiet. For Naruto anyway. He shouldn't be this reticent.

Sasuke reached out for his coffee and swallowed awkwardly. It scalded his tongue, so he put it back.

And then he noticed that the crunching of his bagel was reverberating off the insides of his eardrums. He slowed down, but each bite only got louder. It seemed to take ages for his teeth to just chew once. It was really getting unbearable. He couldn't think.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Naruto was calmly rubbing his hands on the thighs of his jeans, apparently determined to ignore the existence of napkins.

Couldn't he hear it?

He really couldn't hear it?

When Sasuke dropped his unfinished bagel back into the bag and rolled it closed with a noisy twist Naruto looked up, surprised and yet not so. "Don't like it?" he asked, though it didn't seem like much of a question. He sounded disappointed, as if his choice of the correct breakfast would have meant something.

Sasuke shrugged. "It was fine." He was not going to elaborate. He didn't need witnesses to his little nervous breakdown.

But Naruto was observing him avidly, lips pursed. At Sasuke's glance he shifted suddenly as if deciding to say something, mouth opening slightly. But then he slammed it shut, leaning back against his seat once again.

Irritated, Sasuke frowned at him. "What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," Naruto responded without skipping a beat, shaking his head. He lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck, turning to squint his eyes towards the street and thus conveniently hiding his face.

Sasuke could still see him in the side-view mirror. He was biting his lip, brows furrowed, apparently deep in thought.

Suddenly he whirled back to face Sasuke, a fox grin plastered and messy on his face. "By the way, Sasuke," he lilted a tad too innocently

"What?"

"You've got a little something there on your chin."

Sasuke glared and grabbed roughly for his sun visor, flipping open the mirror and inspecting his face. Like always, and as expected of an Uchiha, it was spotless.

"Gotcha." Naruto smiled triumphantly.

"Idiot." Sasuke growled.

"So umm…" Naruto hummed out, switching subjects—subtly—before his short-tempered companion could turn violent. He sniffed loudly. "To Hokage's then?" His brows lifted expectantly as if now, at this juncture, he was deciding it was best to get down to business.

Sasuke's face rapidly paled clear of all emotion and without another word he twisted his key into the ignition and, yanking on the shift stick, backed out.

And Naruto spilled a little bit of his coffee onto his seat, but it was such a tiny little bit and Sasuke didn't _really_ need to be informed of that right now, did he?

He wiped the spot off surreptitiously with his pant leg. Good as new, right?

Right.

They were now driving speedily through the downtown streets, Sasuke manning the wheel about as gently as psychotic patient on crack. The airy brick and ash tree lined roads had been traded in for congested steel and glass, the harsh and cool shades of the inner city where cold glinting sunlight and falling shadows alternated in the architectural patterns of faceless corporations and straight-backed pedestrians hurried in anonymous herds through identical crosswalks. The streets were enveloped in an impersonal blanket of exhaust fumes and the chill of moist, mechanical air from underground parking structures.

Sasuke made a blind grab and had another try at his coffee, the heated bitterness on his tongue and the dark scent a tempered relief against the stale atmosphere. He really did love his coffee black.

He was also in a damn hurry and so he set down his cup in the holder and honked, loudly and incessantly, at an unwitting sedan that seemed (for no reason!) to be content to travel at the speed limit like everybody else.

Not to mention, Naruto was being inexplicably quiet again.

Sasuke would be worried. He would be but he wasn't because he didn't particularly care.

So he sneaked a glance at his mute passenger, who was currently gazing intently out at the reflective façades of the passing city blocks with a slight twist to his lips as if he were trying his hardest to find a message amongst them.

Sasuke never really noticed the weight of silence before.

Or how loud his breathing was. Did he really always breathe that loud? How inappropriate, for an Uchiha.

He cleared his throat conspicuously.

Naruto did not react in the slightest, except now he seemed to be staring philosophically at the dashboard.

Sasuke turned again to look briefly at him, hesitantly opening his mouth. What would he say? 'I yearn for your dulcet tones, Naruto'?

He didn't think so.

So shutting his mouth with a click of teeth (why am I acting like an inane fool?) he aimed his hand for the coffee again and when he put it down after taking another calming sip he (smoothly, like a ninja) flicked on the CD player.

Instantly a funky electronic bass line overlaid by a female voice droning in sultry red-lipstick French flooded his car's impressive sound system, making him jump.

He was in a contained, reserved state of panic, finger jammed on the volume control, when he heard Naruto laugh disbelievingly.

And Sasuke found himself breathing a sigh of relief.

"Is that what I think it is? You listen to fucking Vive la Fete?" Naruto snickered, his eyebrows offensively close to his hairline.

Scratch all that. Naruto was an idiot.

"You've got a problem with that, dumbass?" Sasuke growled over gritted teeth.

"No, no," Naruto assured, another cackle threatening to escape his tight-lipped grin. "No problem at all, Sasuke. In fact, I think your choice of music is very fitting." And apparently he surrendered in all his valiant inner struggles because another bout of raucous laughter was suddenly grating rudely over Sasuke's increasingly red ears.

He was extremely unamused.

"And you bitch about my loafers!" Naruto really was taking this too far. "They are," he chortled, wiping an eye, "the epitome of manliness compared this! You of all people _would_ listen to Vive la Fete!"

Sasuke _snarled_.

And turned up the volume to a steady blast, hoping to drown out the presence of a certain idiot in his car.

"Hey! Hey, alright!" Naruto shouted over the booming speakers as his uncertain hand fluttered frantically over the controls for the volume. "If I can…just...Aha!"

He hit the off button with a triumphant grin but the ringing silence that subsequently filled the car made him shift uncomfortably in his seat and allow a nervous pause before speaking, as if its weight were still too tense to disturb.

"If it makes you feel any better," he ventured after a moment with only a slight tease to his voice, "I listen to Noir Desir. Well, I did. Once." He waved off the eye-roll he did not need to see to know would be gracing Sasuke's features, and trudged on. "Well, the point is they're French too! I have absolutely nothing against music like that. Whatever floats your boat, you know." He added a toothy grin to the package, the obnoxious bow to top off his half-assed offering in apology.

Sasuke didn't respond, lips thin as he checked his side-view mirror and made a sweeping left turn, attention only half on Naruto and the way he was currently worrying at his lip, anxious eyes trained expectantly on Sasuke.

He sighed quietly, flicking off the ticking turn signal. "Vive la Fete isn't French, idiot. They're Belgian."

"The fuck? Of course they're French. I know French when I hear it, alright!" Naruto countered, but he sounded a little too relieved to be truly indignant.

"What do you think they speak in Belgium? Half the country speaks French and the other half speaks Dutch, dumbass, or weren't you listening in history class?" Sasuke shot back with a smirk.

Naruto looked downright offended, mouth wide in mock outrage. "Me? Of course I was! Who _wouldn't_ know the linguistic demographics of Belgium?"

"Hn. Hence the D on your report card?" Sasuke prodded wryly.

"Yeah, well, we can't all be valedictorian," came a grumbled retort.

"And the fact that you had to repeat the class over summer? Just couldn't get enough of it, could you?" he continued, unable to pass up such a ripe opportunity to get back at Naruto even when met with an unusually surly expression and some mumbled swearing.

"Whatever," the disgruntled boy huffed. But then he grinned with a sudden thought, the sheer speed with which he shifted demeanors making him appear almost insane. "Should've asked you to tutor me the first time around, huh Sasuke? Who'd have known you'd have caved so easily, what with you denying every poor, struggling _girl_ that came your way." He pursed his lips and lifted his eyebrows defiantly, a silent 'take that!' in their little battle of wits.

Sasuke scoffed, mouth agape. He scoffed again. At Naruto's snicker his words tumbled out indignantly, "You know I only did that so you'd leave me the fuck alone! You're the one that wouldn't fucking shut up about it! In fact," he settled back haughtily into his seat, features dignified and ignoring the heated glare he was receiving, "I seem to remember a certain blond dumbass begging me _on his knees_, promising me _anything_ so that I would tutor him. Don't you? Hmm, Naruto?"

Naruto laughed at this, a mirthless laugh that escaped his reddening face. "You know I was fucking desperate, bastard," he bit out. "For my part, I haven't exactly forgotten what happened after I made that promise," he continued in a threateningly grating voice, reckless in his irritation.

"Don't even go there, you fucking…"

"I distinctly remember the day I passed the class a certain someone asking me over to his place, sitting me down, and asking me not to tell anyone, ever, a little secret he was about to tell me. You want to know the secret?"

"I can't believe you're actually using this against me."

"The secret was—and get this, it's really good—the secret was: Sasuke Uchiha, the one all the girls go for, the one all the guys wish they were…"

"You're an idiot."

"…_the_ Sasuke Uchiha, the one and only…"

"Oh, fuck you."

"…is gay."

Naruto gazed on, a bitter and cynical smile twisting his features in strange ways as Sasuke clenched his jaw and snapped his head forward, knuckles white and pointed against the steering wheel. He was breathing far too loudly again, eyes flickering erratically between the road, the side-view mirror, the dashboard, anywhere but Naruto. Eventually he let out an angry breath of air and pulled quickly over to the curb, turning the keys in the ignition with shaking fingers. Silence fell around them, stifling and sharp.

Slowly Naruto's eyes widened, face paling, as if only just realizing the words that had come out of his mouth a few moments before. Staring at Sasuke, his mouth dropped slightly open. Unable to find a way around the pulsating vibes of rage Sasuke was emanating he closed it with a gulp and turned to drop his head heavily in his hands, fingers absently tangling into blond locks, a whispered "well, fuck" falling out of dry lips.

Sasuke leaned back on his headrest, closing his eyes with a drawn-out sigh through his nose. Lips thin and grim his adam's apple bobbed once before he opened his lids halfway and stared calmly out at the hood of his car.

They had passed through the inner city and left it behind a few minutes earlier. Now they sat amidst a faded wash of sun-bleached concrete and cracked asphalt, run-down blocks of graffiti and broken glass, rusting chain link fences with brown weeds jutting stiffly from the pole bases. The buildings were smaller here in the old industrial sector, the light harsh and white. The dry burn of dusty air from abandoned lots drifted torpidly through the open passenger window. It really was getting hot now.

Sasuke cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "And I distinctly remember, Naruto," he started quietly and hoarsely, "that this happened two years ago. You never treated me differently afterwards, you told me you didn't care. You never even mentioned it." He twisted his neck to look reservedly at Naruto, eyes rising slightly in order to see his hunched form better. "And that was good. I didn't want you to treat me differently. I'm still me. Don't tell me…" he paused causing Naruto to look up at him, frightened expression still glued to his face, "…don't tell me that after all this time you suddenly care?"

Startled and with his mouth gaping open again but in shock, Naruto straightened out so that he was more at eye-level with Sasuke, hands still splayed wide where his head had been. After a moment he sat back all the way and relaxed his hands in his lap, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Well, obviously not," he scoffed, sounding almost amused.

Sasuke frowned. "What? What do you mean '_obviously_' not?"

For the second time that day Naruto leaned forward, eyes searching Sasuke's face, about to say something. And for the second time he seemed to think better of it, falling back into his seat. "Nothing," he muttered. He looked straight at Sasuke, gaze and jaw line firm, "You know I don't care, Sasuke. Never have, never will. I was just…angry. I shouldn't have said that and I'm sorry." He smiled, eyes clear blue and sincere.

Sasuke stared blankly back for a moment before sighing and giving a few small nods. Without further comment he turned his attention to the task at hand as he pulled out their impromptu parking spot with a crunch of gravel and resumed their way down the barren road.

"What street is Hokage's on again?" he asked, squinting up at a passing street sign.

"Leaf Avenue."

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=]

Get me some reviews and I'll post the next one in a spiffy.

-nostratic


	4. Chapter 3

Hey there. Here's a big one for you =]

To my three reviewers (-_-) thank you! Great insights...we'll just have to see what's true and what isn't ^.^

Enjoy. (standard disclaimers apply)

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**C H A P T E R T H R E E **

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At the next intersection they turned right onto a road lined by identical business fronts, empty and slow on a Thursday morning, shadows cast periodically in jagged black slants on the cracked sidewalk from the awnings displaying faded letters in white script. They finally came to a stop between a dilapidated 'Galaxy Pool Hall' and 'Jon's Fish and Chips,' both boys gazing in trepidation up at the worn lettering that read 'HOKAGE'S BAR,' a title grandiose in its own tumbleweed, sun-parched manner for the infamy it held with the youth in the area. During the day it was a hole-in-the-wall bar and grill using last Tuesday's beef rounds, but during the night it was really more of an underground dance club and anyone who knew anything knew that the lady that ran the place didn't have too many qualms concerning underage drinking as long as you were friends with somebody that knew somebody else and had the ready money for it.

Naruto bit his lip nervously and raised his eyebrows in Sasuke's direction, pushing his door open with a rustle and stepping out onto the white heat of the curb.

Sasuke stared after Naruto's figure as he ambled a few feet away from the car, the legs of his Levi's spread slightly apart while he stared off down the street, sun in his face, before unbuckling his own seatbelt and exiting the car with a dull thud of the door. The sun immediately pounded down on the back of his blazer, burning and strong.

"Parking meter's broken," Naruto announced, scuffing the stained pole with his shoe.

"Hn." Sasuke hopped up onto the curb and hurried into the shade of the awning without sparing the lopsided apparatus a glance. Naruto followed close behind and stood beside him in front of the dusty glass door, thumbs hooked in his belt loops like a cowboy scouting out the terrain. The door and windows had been blacked out with paint so that it was impossible to see through, sporting instead several faded, warped signs featuring beer brands and a couple of neon signs hanging in disrepair from chains attached to the lintels.

"You ready?" Naruto asked conspiratorially.

"What for, idiot?" Sasuke grumbled, exasperated with Naruto's antics.

Naruto grinned. "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you can't remember." He ignored Sasuke's narrowed eyes, enjoying this far too much. "You kind of made a mess of things last night. As in, broke a table or two. Tsunade even threw us all out 'cause of you." Chuckling, he gripped the door handle. "So I guess you could say she isn't going to be too happy if she catches us in there today." He froze suddenly, hand still on the handle, and turned to Sasuke with wide eyes. "Oh shit! And neither is Sakura! She's got a shift today!"

Groaning, he pulled open the door with a quiet tinkle of bells muttering something that sounded like, "The things I do for you…" and without further ado stepped into the bar.

Sasuke caught the door before it swung shut and slipped inside after Naruto. He was hit by a wall of cool air that although smelling faintly of stale grease was a welcome respite from the beating heat outside. The door closed softly behind him. Pausing for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dimness (why is it so dark in here?) he looked around, not actually having come here before the previous night and that hadn't been much of a visit judging from what people had told him. They were in a short hallway closed off by a second door through which the inside of the place could be glimpsed by means of a small round window that had thin steel meshing reinforcing the glass. The hallway itself was lit by a single flickering bulb hanging from the ceiling and was completely bare except for an old poster of The Cure peeling off a wall.

Naruto motioned at the poster with his thumb on his way to the second door. "Who the fuck listens to The Cure anymore anyway?"

"Who's The Cure?" Sasuke asked, honestly confused.

Naruto flipped around, grinning. "You know I saw this chick once wearing a t-shirt that said in, like, big white letters 'WHO THE FUCK IS MICK JAGGER?'" He made quotation marks with his fingers at that, leaning up against the second door and easing it open with his back. "You remind me of her," he finished with a cheeky smile and backed into the main room, door swinging shut behind him.

Sasuke followed inside soon after, pausing and gazing around bemusedly as Naruto seemed to have completely disappeared from view. He was at the entrance of what appeared to be a small and dirty restaurant, vaguely familiar to him in its décor and the dimness of the lighting. Round tables were scattered about in no particular pattern, with only the occasional patron huddled in a lonely corner or hunched on a stool over the traditional wooden bar that ran along the left wall of the room, a pint of beer wrapped in thick hands.

"Pssst!"

Sasuke looked down at the source of the urgent hiss; Naruto was crouching behind a shoulder high room divider with fake wood paneling of the type often used in restaurants, motioning frantically with his hands. Sasuke groaned and crouched down next to him in an awkward squat. "What the fuck are you doing, dumbass?" he whispered irately. "And what do you mean, I remind you of a _chick_?"

"Never mind that! Do you _want_ to get seen?" Naruto hissed back, a little too excited for modesty. He lifted an arm and jabbed twice with his index finger towards a far corner of the room, eyes intense, though of course Sasuke couldn't see a thing since he was at the moment quite ridiculously crouched somewhere between a room divider and a rickety chair with a mysterious gooey substance trailing down one leg. He furrowed his eyebrows and mouthed 'what?' at the still gesturing Naruto in front of him.

"Nnggnn!" Naruto whined, frustrated. "Tsunade! Her office is just over there, on the other side of the bar! And Sakura's probably in the kitchen! They could pop out at any moment! You want to find your ring or not?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing off his pant legs and ignoring the loud whispers of "Hey! What are you doing? Your funeral!" which, really, were much more likely to attract attention than anything he could do.

A gnarled man wearing a trench coat (who wears trench coats?) and smoking a cigarette in a dark wall booth was sending them strange leers. Sasuke glared back and stuffed his hands in his pockets, almost growling at the idiocy of his situation. He turned to look down at Naruto's crouched figure with intent for homicide in his eyes but the boy ignored him, instead beginning to crawl along under the tables—making only a few loud bangs and scraping noises—until he reached a partition in the room divider where he paused and inched forward to peer around into the room before raising two sharply pointed fingers into the air and signaling 'forward', apparently under the delusion that he was real live ninja.

Sasuke could have sworn a muscle was twitching in his jaw. He gazed up at the air ducts running across the ceiling in a silent entreaty to whatever deity felt like listening before strolling pacifically up to the idiot and awarding him a swift, brief kick in the ribs.

"What the fuck was that for?!" Naruto yelled, grabbing his side and seemingly abandoning the 'stealth' aspect of his self-imposed mission.

"Shut up, dumbass. And get off the floor already!"

Naruto stood up slowly, grumbling murder under his breath, and retaliated with a light shove to Sasuke's shoulder. "You're such an ass."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again. "Yeah. Anyways. Do you remember where we were sitting last night?"

Naruto frowned, sulking at the rude interruption to his fun and pointed glumly to a corner booth about ten feet away from them. "Yeah, _I think_ we were sitting there…prick."

Sasuke strolled away from Naruto across the brown tiles of the floor to come to a stop before the round corner table, hands still in his pockets. He bestowed a brief preliminary scan upon the area and then, climbing onto the circular cushioned seat, began to inch along on his knees using his fingers to feel the crack between the seat and the back. Naruto stood watching him, an expression of mild interest adorning his features as he leaned with his elbow slung over the divider between that booth and the next.

Wordless and blank, Sasuke completed his examination of the seat and, standing before the table once again, dropped to a crouch to look around at the floor. It really was filthy down there. The lighting was scanty in that corner of the establishment so, seeing no other option, Sasuke found himself forced to drop to his knees and slowly scoot forward under the table while searching with his hands for anything hard and cool.

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice reached him from somewhere above. He ignored it and kept feeling around. After a moment an unintelligible mutter drifted down, followed by a more urgent and whispered, "Sasuke!" Sasuke growled in frustration, having accidently poked a rancid piece of gum stuck to the table leg, and continued ignoring Naruto.

"Uchiha!"

Sasuke jumped at the booming voice that certainly did not belong to Naruto, banging his head against the bottom of the table and letting out a string of pained curses in the process. Rubbing the top of his head with one hand he began scuffling out from under the table butt first and squinted through the tears in his eyes at a blurry pair of heeled feet blocking his escape, ominously imperious in their stance.

Finally clear of the table, he groaned and straightened slowly up to his feet, turning grimly to face a blond, large-busted woman whose seething expression promised a very unpleasant near-future for the Uchiha.

"Ma'am," he nodded politely, all innocence, and trying his very hardest to ignore the fact that this sunny Thursday morning he had just been discovered crawling about in a dirty corner of some ratty downtown bar.

This, he thought vaguely as he struggled to seem unaffected by the woman's glare, is not one of the high points of my life. And no, that was most definitely _not_ a blush on his cheeks.

His eyes flickered briefly over the woman's shoulder to a Naruto whose face was contorting in strange ways, his lips twisting comically. Ahh, Sasuke thought blankly after a moment, nodding to himself, he's trying not to laugh.

He narrowed his eyes. And scowled petulantly. And turned back to Tsunade.

She was currently taking in his state of dishevelment with a sort of sadistic satisfaction, a wicked smirk pursing up her too-young face. "Well, if it isn't our little bar fighter," she drawled with relish, crossing her arms and graciously allowing a pause as if expecting some spectacular reaction to her witty and clever remark.

Sasuke checked again; no, he was pretty certain that was rhetorical. Behind her Naruto had his face buried in the crook of his elbow, doubled over in silent laughter.

A few more seconds of pregnant silence passed.

"Yes. Hello," Sasuke finally deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"Aha! Don't you spew your attitude on me, you brat!" Tsunade cried victoriously, leaning over and poking Sasuke in the chest, hard. He stumbled back in surprise, steadying himself against the table. Tsunade had gotten closer and was now looming over him, looking quite malicious with the contours of her face obscured by shadows in the questionable lighting, her eyes gleaming with malevolence.

"Ah, come on you old hag! Stop harassing Sasuke!" Naruto chortled somewhere in the distance. Suddenly Tsunade's oppressive presence receded from Sasuke's immediate vicinity as she whirled around to buffet Naruto across the back of the head. "Watch who you're calling an old hag!" she growled at the now-cowering loud mouth. Regally smoothing down her shirt she straightened to her full, impressive height and, lifting her chin, barked, "You two. In my office. Now." before dismissing herself from their persons in a quick march, hands balled into fists at her sides.

Naruto chuckled weakly, rubbing the sore spot on his skull. "Yep. That's Tsunade for you…" He had begun to troop after her when he noticed Sasuke looking somewhat lost over by the table and let out another peal of laughter. "You've, uh, got a little something in your hair there."

Sasuke just stared glumly with hands still gripping the table behind him so Naruto took it upon himself to stroll over to his side and delicately pick a sizable dust bunny from Sasuke's hair in order to dangle it pensively in the air between them. Sasuke's eyes slowly roved upwards to zero in on the clump of dust and hair, a small frown on his lips. Naruto grinned and grabbing Sasuke's hand so that he was forced to hold it palm up, dropped the dust bunny into it and closed Sasuke's fingers around his well-conceived gift.

Sasuke snorted in irritation and disgustedly threw the bit of filth back onto the floor where it belonged, whispering, "Idiot."

Naruto broke into a laughing smile, innocently spreading his arms wide, "What? You reject my advances so callously?" At Sasuke's unamused silence he sobered and searched the sullen face with a concerned crease between his brows, "Come on. You can ask her if anyone turned in a ring last night after we left or something. But don't look so fucking ecstatic, okay? You're killing me here with all those joyous vibes." He grinned and poked Sasuke in the ribs, skipping backwards to dodge the retaliating swat he knew would be heading his way.

Sasuke huffed and pushed away from the table, stuffing his hands sullenly in the pockets of his blazer to follow after Tsunade. Naruto hurried close behind, skirting around the tables and chairs. Past the room divider, the center area of the restaurant was unbroken and occupied solely with empty tables which at night were collapsed and removed to make way for the dance floor. A slightly raised platform near the right wall of the room was used by either the DJ or a live band.

In the soft yellow light the hunched backs of solitary customers melded into chairs, into tiled flooring and the smoky lingering of time coincided with the clinking of glasses during the midday period.

Sasuke's gaze passed stoically over the red linen of the tablecloths. Salt and pepper shakers. "Someone could have stolen it," he called over his shoulder to Naruto.

"Well…yeah I guess. But it's got, you know, _the_ Uchiha crest all over it. Someone will eventually report it or turn it in or something. I think," Naruto replied as he jogged up to Sasuke. "Right?"

They had cleared the tables and were now approaching a peeling pair of double doors near the other end of the bar.

"You suck at comfort, you know that?" Sasuke muttered. Naruto simply grinned and swung open both doors in a single push.

Leaving behind the heavy atmosphere of the darkened bar and restaurant they entered a whitewashed hallway with fluorescent lighting. On the right was a second pair of double doors that, as far as the small rectangular windows allowed them to see, led into the kitchen, and on the left was a single nondescript door that was currently slightly ajar. It smelled strongly of bacon and windex.

Naruto seemed to know where he was going so Sasuke let him prod open the door on the left and stop when it was open wide enough for both boys to tentatively peer into the room.

"Well, get in here," came Tsunade's exasperated voice from beyond Naruto's mop of hair.

They shuffled single-file into the sparsely decorated office; it contained a desk, two metal-framed chairs before it, a filing cabinet in one corner, a half-empty water cooler in another, and a fake potted plant in a third. Sasuke shut the door quietly behind him; something told him an enclosed space with Tsunade for company was not consistent with his definition of enjoyable and that, for his own good, he should act as courteous as possible. Especially when taking into account the stunt he had apparently pulled the night before.

They hovered nervously before the desk, fidgeting under the cheap lighting and the quiet hum of the A/C that chilled the air just a little too much.

Tsunade, who had been scanning a tedious-looking document at her desk, eyed them over the rim of her reading glasses. "Well?" she rumbled, impatient. "Sit down!" She waved her hand absently at the two chairs before the desk, turning back to the paper in her hand.

They sat. And waited, since Tsunade seemed to have suddenly and immediately forgotten their presence. Naruto kept readjusting his position, crossing his leg this way or leaning back the other way, as the chairs were exceedingly uncomfortable. He finally settled for flinging his arms over the back of his chair and staring up at the ceiling panels with a glazed look in his eyes, legs sprawled over an impressive amount of space.

Sasuke bit back a strong urge to hiss "Sit up straight!" (god, I feel like his mother) and instead stared intently at his toes. If he wiggled them just so, he could see their shape through the converse.

Intermittently the water cooler would buzz to life, making a distracting amount of background noise. Sasuke morosely contemplated the nature of bubbles in water coolers. But then stopped when he realized he really would be in desperate straits when he started drawing parallels between his life and water coolers in the back rooms of backwoods bars.

"Eh…Tsunade, can I get some water?"

Sasuke snapped his head towards Naruto, who was sitting (you call that sitting?) to the right of him, an innocent arch to his brows, arms now clasped behind his head.

Tsunade glanced at him over her glasses as she straightened a crisp stack of papers, mouth drawn in a frown that made her seem older. "No." she responded, dangerously drawing out the syllable between tight lips.

Naruto seemed surprised. Or at least Sasuke was because instead of squawking some indignant comeback in a quintessentially Naruto manner, said boy dropped his hands and sat up straight as a rod.

Tsunade pursed her lips and rifled through a folder sitting at the top of one of the many piles on her desk, finally pulling out single crinkled piece of yellow note paper. With a businesslike clearing of her throat, she adjusted her glasses and commenced reading.

"Two circular folding tables," she announced. "One linen table cloth, round." She glanced sternly up as if to quell the sudden exclamations of protest she seemed to be expecting. "Seven pint glasses. Two eight-ounce tumblers. Two plates." Sasuke heard Naruto stifle an unexplained chuckle at that one. Tsunade simply went on in her militaristic bark of a voice. "One bar stool. Three customer complaints. And one…completely unnecessary," she shook her head and gestured vaguely with her hand, "notification of the authorities." She cleared her throat again and raised her eyebrows. "For a grand total, in damages and compensation, of six hundred twenty four dollars and ten cents."

She lightly set down the paper and crossed her arms on top of the desk, staring pointedly at the two boys who simply stared blankly back. In the drywall and insulated silence, Naruto exhaled noisily.

Tsunade sent him a nasty glare before focusing the full force of her wrath upon a detached-looking Sasuke. "Well?" she demanded in that controlled growl of hers, the one that threatens thunder. "What have you got to say for yourself, brat?"

Sasuke remained valiantly stoic. "I sincerely apologize for all the trouble I seem to have caused, ma'am," he ventured, glancing between her and a sulking Naruto. The flickering fluorescent light tinged everyone in a stagnant tint of blue so that they appeared pale and more dramatically sleep deprived than they were. He could see every little flicker of Naruto's eyelid. Sasuke's gaze kept being inexplicably drawn to the minute whirring bubbles of air trapped inside the water cooler in the corner. Deep cubicle blue and distorted and see the little pores in the opaque textured barrel. All that condensing quivering blue, the plastic stale cool water it was drawing him in. It occupied the entirety of his vision, he could drown in it. God—he rubbed at his temples, neither of his companions sitting with him in this bare room the wiser to his minor breakdown. He needed rest. God—Itachi. He cleared his throat and shook his head, scrutinizing the chipping table edge, and looked back up at Tsunade. He shrugged. "Be assured that you'll receive full compensation, in the amount you quoted. In fact," he dug his wallet out of his pocket, pulling out his checkbook, "I'll write you a check right now. If I may?" He plucked a pen from Tsunade's desk and held it up, brows slightly raised in question. She nodded.

Naruto gaped dumbly at their actions as if they had initiated some alien ritual ceremony, jumping to action only when Sasuke began scrawling numbers onto the little slip of paper.

"Wait! Wait, Sasuke," he waved his arms and chuckled uneasily. "You don't have to do that, I mean, it wasn't totally your fault. I was kind of involved too, you know, so it's only fair that I pay part of it!"

Sasuke paused and simply stared at Naruto, an unreadable expression on his face, hand still holding the pen mid-air. Tsunade leaned back in her office chair and snorted. "Idiot boy. What are you playing at?" She suddenly leaned forward and leered at Naruto, finger pointing threateningly. "Don't think Jiraiya isn't keeping me totally up to date on your situation. Because he is! So when you get thrown out onto the streets because you…you snot-nosed _children_ these days have no idea, _whatsoever_, how to handle your money—don't think you'll be saved from a healthy beating on my part!" she finished with an assertive bang of her hand on the table top, eyes flashing dangerously.

Naruto was aghast, gripping the table edge and pointing his own finger in turn. "You…you _hag_! You've been _spying_ on me?" Outraged, he stood up, fists balled. "How does Jiraiya even know I moved out in the first place?" he exclaimed.

Tsunade waved away his indignation. "Sit down, brat. You think Iruka doesn't talk to him? Besides." She huffed. "Spying or no spying; we all know you are in absolutely no situation to be paying for damages when _this_ one," she jerked her head in Sasuke's direction, "is fully capable of doing so. It was his fault anyway." Sasuke's mouth thinned and he scribbled his signature onto the check, pressing a bit too hard with the pen.

Naruto plopped back into his chair, deflated and apparently a little embarrassed. "Eh…well I guess you're right…" he trailed off, rubbing his nape and grimacing. "I just wish there something I could do…"

"However." Tsunade announced loudly, completely ignoring Naruto's semi-grateful blubbering. "That does not entitle you to a free ride whenever you waste the time and money of the people around you," she declared.

"But I…"

"Therefore! You're going to be helping Sakura in the kitchen from eight in the morning until midday for the next week. You start now."

Naruto let out a strangled yelp of complaint, flabbergasted and confused as to how, exactly, he ended up in this situation. "W-What?"

"You heard me." Tsunade curtly straightened another stack of papers. Noticing Naruto's gaping, lost expression she scowled in irritation. "Well? Go on! Unless you really want me to charge you the full amount?" she inquired acidly, pausing in her hopeless tidying.

Naruto turned his gape upon Sasuke who merely stared back, surly and defensive.

"Wait for me?" Naruto pleaded timidly.

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered. Naruto gulped and solemnly got to his feet, shuffling glumly on the polyester carpeting towards the door as if it were a march to his death. He pulled it open and plodded out. The soft click of the door shutting behind him echoed loudly through the silence left in his wake. For once Sasuke could sympathize with Naruto, if just a little; being stuck in a kitchen with Sakura for a week was not good news for anybody and although he was the one who ended up paying the check, he somehow felt like he was let off easier.

And wasn't it all his fault anyway, according to what everyone kept telling him? Where did Tsunade get off, doing that?

He stiffly reached his arm across and handed her the check with a glare.

"Don't look at me like that, brat," Tsunade shot at him, whipping the check out of his outstretched hand and bending to store it in a drawer. She straightened up and stilled at the stormy scowl that had settled on a silent Sasuke's face. Smirking, she leaned in conspiratorially. "Look, kid, I know he didn't really have much to do with it but a little bit of hard work never hurt anybody, right? Builds character! And it gives me an excuse," she raised her brows smugly, looking quite pleased with herself and lowering her voice as if the walls were listening in, "to give him a check at the end of the week. He'd never take it otherwise."

She leaned back into her softly creaking chair, rocking it lazily side to side, and gazed down her noise at a quietly surprised Sasuke. After a moment he shook himself out of his shock, arching a brow with a tilt of his head and clearing his throat.

"Uh...that's true. He wouldn't."

Tsunade smirked again and crossed her arms. "Know what? You're alright Uchiha. When you're not drunk off your ass and starting fights in my respected and decent establishment, that is." She pursed her lips wryly.

Sasuke exhaled slowly and shrugged. It smelled like moving boxes and paint in here. There was a magnet on the metal cabinet behind Tsunade's shoulder, a pink pig with a string of pearls around its fat neck. He squinted confusedly at it. Maybe if he turned his head slightly to the left, it would stop being stupid and random.

Tsunade tapped her index finger twice on the arm of her chair impatiently. "Don't talk much, do you kid? That's fine." She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her desk, her chin on the tips of her fingers which she had pointed up like a steeple, and peered intensely at Sasuke.

After a few seconds he began to feel uncomfortable, like a specimen on a petri dish being examined under a microscope. Determined to appear unaffected he stared straight back into the eyes that were boring into his. Tsunade seemed to be mulling something over, working out a difficult problem as she slowly sucked at the corner of her bottom lip, brows creased.

"So!" she voiced loudly and suddenly, features wiped neutral, as she fell back into her seat with her arms on the armrests as if she were on a throne. "What started the fight?" she asked innocently. "I'm curious."

Sasuke scowled and turned to stare determinedly at the water cooler, his long bangs veiling his eyes. He wondered how often the water was replaced. After a while he sighed and, looking at his feet, mumbled, "I don't actually remember anything."

Tsunade threw her head back and laughed heartily. (I'm not a fucking comedian here…) "Of course you don't, brat," she chortled. "It's funny how life works, isn't it?" She sighed and smiled at Sasuke with crinkled eyes and something close to pitying affection.

Sasuke's scowl deepened. Sasuke doesn't do 'pity,' give or take. What he really needed was to ask about his ring and get out of there.

"Look, I…"

In a rustle of sudden movement Tsunade rolled her chair into the desk and leaned over the table, arms crossed over its surface. "Well I was there, Uchiha," she declared, eyeing him severely. "And seeing as I wasn't especially drunk at the time, I might have some idea why that fight broke out." She raised her eyebrows as if daring him to doubt the truth of her statement.

"I, uh…" Sasuke shook his head slightly, having no idea what she wanted him to say.

"I know. I know," Tsunade assured lightly with her hands raised and head bowed, as if trying to appease him, causing a curtain of blond hair to slip past her shoulder. "You don't care. Why should you care? It doesn't matter which idiot you were fighting with, or what for. What _does_ matter is where you can find that ring of yours," she explained with a tilt of the head in the direction of Sasuke's right hand which was currently resting lightly on his thigh and all too ringless. "Am I right?"

Sasuke suddenly felt very self-conscious about his hand, lying out all bare and sans ring and in the open like it was. It twitched without his permission and he curled it into a fist, trying to hide it as much as possible in the sleeve of his blazer. And then trying not to blush when he realized his actions. He looked back up at Tsunade's smirking face with glaring suspicion. Was she playing with him? How the hell did she know anyway?

"That's right. You think I don't know about the Uchihas? That I didn't notice your ring last night? You only left a nice mark on the other idiot's face with it! And then you stagger out of my bar, drunk as a devil, and come back the next morning all twitchy and disgruntled and start digging around under one of my tables!" she railed, waving her hand jerkily towards the general direction of the main room. "And what do you know? No ring," she drawled condescendingly.

Sasuke whipped his head to the side in anger and frustration to scowl at the bare wall. He took a deep breath and tapped his foot. "Fine," he growled out finally before turning back to Tsunade, eyes flashing. "You're right. I lost my ring. I need it back. That's what we came for." He lifted his brows acerbically. "Do you happen to know where it is?" His voice was polite and sweet and just barely under control.

"Wrong, Uchiha! You failed the test!" Tsunade burst out vehemently and without warning, her booming voice easily filling up the tiny room. Sasuke stared, alarmed; what was the hag going on about now? Tsunade leered at him in fuming self-righteousness. "Wrong answer! It's not about the ring at all, is it? The fight! The fight is what matters!" She jabbed her finger viciously in his direction, practically snarling at him. "You care! That's what matters! That's what you need to know!"

Sasuke realized, with a small amount of annoyance, that his mouth was hanging slightly open. He closed it. Then he tried to relax his white-knuckled grip on his chair, but his hands weren't cooperating.

At least Tsunade seemed spent by now. Shoulders slumped, she bowed her head and closed her eyes, nostrils flaring and lips as thin as a line. After a few seconds of very loud silence she opened her eyes and calmly surveyed the littered desktop before her. She spoke to her yellow notepad, voice slightly hoarse: "I care about Naruto."

Sasuke didn't respond. He had no idea how to respond.

Tsunade fixed a strangely emotional stare on him through her eyelashes. She took a breath and leaned her upper body forward, keeping her hands cradled in her lap. "What would you say," she mused quietly, her rough timbre a rich murmur as if she were sharing secrets in a confessional, "if I told you that fight last night was really about you and Naruto? It was really about you showing something you never meant to show, didn't even know was there, even if it was because you were drunk and had no idea what you were doing?"

She fell slowly back into her seat at the thought, tilting her neck so that she was almost like a cat, stretching. Sasuke had his eyes narrowed, utterly confused. He glanced down briefly at his lap and bit his lip. (What?)

Tsunade looked down at him appraisingly, rocking her chair again and drumming the armrest with her fingers. "Think on that Uchiha," she ordered softly, apparently feeling that Sasuke knew all he needed to know about his late-night confrontation. "Naruto is like a son to me. And you care about him. You do. That's the answer."

Sasuke looked back up at her, trying with creased brows to discern her unreadable expression. Was that…approval?

What the hell was going on?

_---[The previous night]---_

_Sasuke Uchiha was throwing down shots. _

_It was whiskey but he could barely taste it anymore. He was momentarily aware that he could smell the barley, its earthy thick scent touching the back of his throat. Cheap stuff. _

_Hmmm. But good. When it comes down to it, the best. _

_He was sitting in a dark corner booth, the type with a round table and a cushioned seat that encircles it in fake leather. There was nobody there with him. _

_The shot glasses were all lined up in front of him. Most empty, some not. _

_He couldn't see much in the darkness. His table, and the table across from his in the flashing, seizure-inducing lights of the dance floor. The heavy bass line thrummed reliably, a droning electronic beat reverberating down to his spine. On and on, heavy and it was overtaking his skull. Was he nodding in time to it? He couldn't tell. _

_He realized a few seconds late that he'd had his eyes squeezed shut for some time. Was that what passing out felt like? He couldn't remember what he was thinking about just before. _

_Naruto was gone. Yes he was gone. _

_He'd been trying to tell Sasuke something. "Sasuke?" Like that. He'd scooted closer. He hadn't been nearly as drunk as Sasuke was now. "Sasuke." He'd smiled—with all the goddamn whiskey on the table, and god he could feel it in the air every time he exhaled he reeked of it, and the epileptic flashing of the lights white and black and blinding—through all that crap he'd smiled earnestly. _

_He couldn't see the fucking color of his eyes in this darkness. He felt like screaming. Blurry, anyway. _

"_Sasuke?" a little louder. Sasuke shuddered with the alcohol. His eyes were bleary, he actually couldn't see straight and he thought that only happened in the movies. Boy, was he fucking drunk. Hmmm. His mind was droning pleasantly, all nonsense. _

_Fucking Itachi. And that fucking movie they'd just come from had been stupid he couldn't even remember it. He drowned another shot of whiskey. Dropping the glass clumsily. That didn't matter. The music mattered. Keep screaming like that, please. I'm serious. _

_Was he nodding in time to it? He thought so. _

"_Sasuke. Listen." His lips tingled. Numb with the alcohol. The dance floor was throbbing from what he could glimpse of it. He wanted to fucking go in there, in the middle of all those people, and fucking go dance. Breathe in. Breathe out. _

"_Sasuke you're drunk. I think I'm drunk. But not that drunk, so listen." Sasuke turned to Naruto finally and grinned. "Sasuke." _

_Sasuke grinned. He was grinning. Hello, Naruto. What. _

"_Sasuke…I." Naruto shifted and his arm landed heavily over Sasuke's shoulder. It was warm. Hot. Too heavy. _

"_Sasuke, listen, I don't know how to fucking say this." And suddenly his face was so close, and Sasuke breathed in deeply. Like it was his fucking last breath. Naruto. Naruto. Yes, what? _

_Naruto. _

_And someone was thumbing his cheek harshly and he smiled into it. Naruto. "Sasuke…I." _

_Sasuke swallowed and leaned in. Yes. What? _

_And then started fucking laughing. Whispered laughs he was wheezing into Naruto's face. Hahaha! Oh god, Naruto. God, fucking. His lips tingled and he smiled with the feeling. Want to fuck, Naruto? Was that out loud? Naruto._

_Hmmm. This whiskey really was the best. He wished he could have it all the fucking time. Naruto._

_Naruto was halfway across on the other side, scooting along looking all pissed. Haha! Sasuke laughed. Naruto! He was calling him, wasn't he? Naruto. _

_Naruto was gone. He had gotten up and gone into the crowd. The mesh of sweating, flashing bodies on the dance floor to the harsh fast flashing techno. _

_And now Sasuke Uchiha was throwing down shots. He inhaled loudly. It strained his throat nicely. The hot stink of liquor. _

_Who said he wanted to be fucking left alone? Fucking asshole. _

_He grabbed a glass and drowned it, and some went down his chin but fuck. And then the other one, and the other one right after and it didn't even fucking burn anymore but he felt the burn in his stomach and he wondered idly if he'd get an ulcer one day. But the sting in his nose was warm and nice. _

_Fucking Naruto. He gripped the table and pushed himself to the edge of the booth. And stood up and he was wobbling so he grabbed the table again and he felt like he would throw up right there. _

_And he couldn't fucking see a thing with these strobe lights. White and black and white and black. Flashing and seizure. And the electronic beat it never stopped. _

_He straightened and staggered across the tiled walkway and grabbed onto a chair even though there was someone sitting in it. A guy with a plaid collared shirt and he was brown-haired and it was spiky and the guy looked around confused and embarrassed and the people at the table were laughing. Girl with a black purse on the table and long hair. God he was fucking plastered. He felt like if he fell to the floor right now, he could sleep and sleep. _

_He kept going. Staggered. And then he was on the dance floor and the strobe lights were flashing on and off and on and off. _

_It was hot and sweaty and it was hard to get through. A wall of people dancing, if you call that dancing. He pushed through. "Excuse me….Excuse me." A couple was fucking air humping. You call that dancing? The girl was bent over and pushing into the guy's crotch. Fucking dancing. He could barely breathe. _

_It was like he was looking a slideshow, dark and bright dark and bright, the sudden snapshot of sweaty people on the floor blinding and every few seconds. Bam bam bam bam and the music unrelenting and cruel and sinful and loud. _

_Was that a profile? Naruto's profile? _

_Naruto I'm sorry. His eyes and cheeks. And his shoulders. Naruto. Closer now. Naruto!_

_Naruto wasn't dancing. He was with a girl and the girl had black fucking hair and what was he doing? He pushed closer, not caring how hard._

"_Dude what the fuck!" Naruto was angry at the person next to him. And that other guy behind the girl was familiar too. Brown hair and two lines tattooed down his face. Where the fuck did he know him from? _

"_What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Naruto was shouting at idiot next to him. The tattooed boy was also angry at the other one. "The fuck you get off, slipping E into Hinata's drink, you fucking asshole?" Naruto was yelling over the beat of the music. _

_The black haired girl was totally fucking out of it. Tilted forward into Naruto's chest and giggled and her eyes were fucking scary and weird what was wrong with them? She was bobbing in time to the music and was fucking biting Naruto's shoulder. And smiling. Biting Naruto's shoulder. Naruto. _

"_Naruto. I'm sorry." Sasuke said. Naruto look at me!_

_Naruto was pushing the asshole with the earring. "What the fuck, man?" The guy being pushed was angry also. _

_Naruto! Yes hello. _

"_What's it to you, you fuck?!" the other one said. Everyone was yelling it was so loud in here. Fucking hot. _

"_What are you playing at?" Naruto was so angry. Sasuke had never seen him so angry. _

"_What, are you gay or something?" the other guy shouted. "Fuck you! It's none of your business!"_

_And Naruto was so angry. His face all scrunched up and was he red? Naruto! Fucking look at me! "Naruto, I'm sorry." Sasuke said again. He reached out and hit Naruto's arm. He couldn't aim well enough to grab it. _

"_Fuck you!" Naruto shouted, shaking Hinata. _

_Naruto!_

_Sasuke reached and pushed at the idiot yelling at Naruto. Get the fuck out. Naruto I need to talk to him. _

"_Hey asshole!" the guy shouted, furious. The lights were flashing on and off and on. The guy was ugly in the strobe lights, sweaty and his eyes were all wrong glaring at Sasuke in every snapshot of blinding white light. _

_They were close to a table. _

_Suddenly, Sasuke felt a fucking spine-wrenching pain in his left skull—crash and boom! Something had crashed against his head, and he stumbled blind for a few seconds, numb. The guy was reeling backwards and grinning, idiot. A fucking plate. _

_Sasuke grabbed another one off the table and people were yelling and screaming and he smashed it hard against the guys head, fucking swinging for it and it shattered all loud the pieces raining on the floor and the guy went dazed for a few seconds._

_Ahhh, that felt good and then felt a skull shaking sting in his nose ahh that was deep and bruising and it was amazing his neck wasn't broken and what the fuck he realized he was leaning heavily against someone, his head hanging and bloodied to the side. Shit._

"_Sasuke!"_

_He punched back, throwing all his weight into it. A crunch and push of flesh and it hurt his knuckles too much. That fucking hurt. The other guy was twisted around, cradling his cheek. Shit and now there was cool air stinging his face the other people had backed off. _

_He almost passed out. God make it go away. And then there was a straining blow to his stomach the air was knocked out of him and it hurt god and he couldn't fucking breathe he was wheezing doubled over and the guy was right next to him, arm shoved into his ribs. _

_Ahh! He pushed hard with all he had left and the guy fell back and he started fucking pummeling at him hurting every piece of skin he managed to find in the delayed flashes revealed to him. Bang bang the music shrieked on. Fuck this dick! He punched and fucking punched. _

"_Shit! Sasuke, stop it!" _

_He was pushed back all of a sudden and actually he was really weak but only thought he was strong while he was fighting. "Sasuke!" Why were these hands so strong? A flash of in the strobe lights it was in the shape of Naruto's face and he was looking frantic. "Sasuke!" _

_He pushed at Naruto. He'd said he was sorry, hadn't he? Fuck him! _

_The other guy had gotten up and his face was bleeding everywhere, he looked like something out of a horror movie. The guy growled like an animal and tumbled forward and Sasuke was pushed hard and fell back into something harder, shit! And he was on the floor and he thought maybe he brought a table down with him because there was glass smashing around him and it hurt like hell on his head and his back. He groaned loudly and tried to get up, his arms were so fucking weak! And he managed to stumble up and he snarled at the other guy who was staggering around leering like and idiot and he charged at him and pushed him hard and the guy fell into a table and everyone, everyone was screaming. His chest was fucking heaving and he followed to where the guy was lying rolling on the floor and fell to where he was and kneeled and grabbed his stupid t-shirt so he could start punching and punching again and, god, were people supposed to fucking bleed red so much? _

_And then he was jerked up by the collar and it was all out of his hands. Tattoo boy was grabbing him back. _

"_Sasuke, you fucking bastard! I said stop it!" Naruto was yelling and he was so angry at Sasuke now and had him by the shirt now and was shaking him violently. _

_So Sasuke was tired now and the other guy wasn't moving anymore anyway so he went limp and just stared and stared at Naruto and he could hear a woman shouting. "Get out!" the woman was shouting in a deep strong voice and she was kind of pretty and Naruto was shouting back like he knew her. _

_But Sasuke just stared at Naruto, silhouettes crowding around them and people shouting, never taking his eyes from his face. _

-------------

The water cooler buzzed to life again in the quiet whitewashed little office room. Sasuke realized he was actually one of the tiny air bubbles creeping up the edge and drowning in the endless polycarbonate blue.

Tsunade's eyes were still observing him carefully, the rest of her body lazy in the office chair. Sasuke felt like he was staring at the Mona Lisa (What the hell is she smiling about?). He never had understood what the big deal about it was.

Suddenly Tsunade spoke. "Nervous about your speech at the ceremony tonight? I hear you're graduating valedictorian." The question dragged strangely in the wake of that unexplained outburst.

Sasuke felt irritated for some reason. "No." he replied curtly, scowling.

Tsunade simply smirked at him and murmured noncommittally. "Mmhhm." She glanced at her desktop before speaking again. "I'll be there, you know. For Naruto." She looked up with a smile. "So you could say I'm looking forward to witnessing your spectacular speaking skills," she prodded jocosely, lifting her brows.

Sasuke stared blankly at her and shrugged ever so slightly (Oh, ha ha).

He had the distinct, lingering feeling that he was being very carefully analyzed and the sensation made him shift uncomfortably in his seat and avert his eyes from Tsunade's face. She was silent, apparently deep in thought.

She came back to life, suddenly very noisy as she cleared her throat and rolled her chair closer and extended her arm across the table with a grunt. "Well Uchiha, I'm glad we could have this little chat," she declared with finality, all business. Sasuke tentatively reached out and shook her firm hand. Tsunade stood up then and so did Sasuke, following her lead. "I'm glad I finally met you," Tsunade informed him briefly as she skirted around the desk to show Sasuke out of her office, a hand placed heavily on his tense back. "Naruto doesn't shut up about you sometimes. I feel like I know you already. I think we hit it off pretty well, didn't we Uchiha?"

Sasuke frowned and paused as Tsunade bent to pull open the door. He needed to be sure. "I'm assuming you haven't seen my ring, then?" he asked formally.

Tsunade furrowed her brows as she gently but forcefully shoved Sasuke through the doorway into the hall. "No Uchiha, I haven't," she answered in a severe tone. Sasuke turned to look at her; the door was already halfway closed and he could see the far corner of the office beyond Tsunade's imposing figure as she leaned into the gap. "I'll be sure to tell either you or Naruto if I hear about it. I suggest you go wait in the bar for him. Try not to break anymore tables, Uchiha, goodbye." The door handle clicked shut and Sasuke was left alone in a very quiet, very white hallway.

He scowled and stuffed his hands in his pockets, swiveling around to approach the double doors that led into the kitchen. Through the small windows he could see a few rows of metallic counter tops and cabinets and the usual nondescript utilities. Sakura was standing before the far tiled wall in a red apron, her pink hair tied back sloppily and her forehead gleaming with sweat. She seemed to be gesturing wildly at an appliance and barking something at Naruto who was in similar state of disarray but looking much more meek and helpless and just a little frightened, his blond hair plastered to the side of his cheeks as he started shouting something back in a comically defensive pose.

Sasuke smirked. So he'd leave them to their fun.

He turned and pushed through the doors leading back into the main room with his shoulder, strolling casually past the bar and taking a seat on an unoccupied wooden stool where he propped one foot up on a rung and left the other to lightly scrape the floor by the toes. The lighting seemed dimmer than ever, a hazy warm red. It was probably closer to noon now and the restaurant wasn't as empty as it had been. Not nearly what he'd call a busy place, but it wasn't totally bare either. The man next to him was snoring softly into his cradled arms, slumped over the counter and still gripping a half empty tumbler of beer. Sasuke leaned his elbows on the countertop and huddled into his blazer.

The bartender approached him lazily, wiping a glass with a damp terry cloth. "Can I get you anything?"

Sasuke stared back blankly. "Orange juice. Do you have that?" he responded, surly.

The bartender raised his eyebrows, apparently amused. "Orange juice? Sure, man."

Sasuke scowled. And when the glass was set in front of him he took it and started sipping at it, sitting all by his solitary self while he waited, glaring at everyone and everything over the rim.

* * *

Aww. Sasuke gives me fuzzies inside.

Please review. How's my pacing? Characterization? Help me out.

Gotta go write the next chapter now...


	5. Chapter 4

To clarify: In the bar fight presented in previous chapter, Sasuke is _not_ fighting Kiba. He is fighting some random jackass, and Kiba happens to be there. Also, the portions in italics are not Sasuke's flashbacks, but the story's; that is, they are me as the author revealing in chronological succession the occurrences of the previous night in Sasuke's point of view. If Sasuke remembers something, it will say so explicitly in the 'present time' text. If it doesn't, assume he doesn't remember a thing.

Now. *Sheepish smile* I've had the next three chapters (except for like the last couple hundred words of chapter six) written for about three weeks already...but I have a good excuse for not posting them! I usually write in sections that make sense in my head in terms of plot, and then break those up into chapters. Three weeks ago found me typing furiously to finish up this section because the next day I would be leaving for...you've got it, Alaska. No joke. Sadly, I did not finish and throughout the next two weeks I was, for the most part, on a boat somewhere in the Northern Pacific. Internet connection was, let's say, shanty. Alaska is insanely beautiful by the way. But now I'm back in LA heat, and here's an update.

Enjoy.

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**C H A P T E R F O U R**

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The mahogany was chipping and that annoyed Sasuke. He sat slouched upon his bar stool and looked at his reflection in the wall-length mirror behind the shelves of bottles that lined the bar. It was surly and pale and that also annoyed him. He felt awkward and vulnerable presented as such with his stark reflection in a bar and so he looked away.

The bartender was attending to a slim young woman three seats down, and flirting openly. He grinned at something she said and walked away from her while she sipped at her drink, approaching the sleeping drunk beside Sasuke.

"Hey. Hey, you." The bartender lightly gripped the man's shoulder and shook it. The man slowly awoke, startled from his drunken slumber. "You got somewhere to be or something?" the bartender asked though his tone suggested he couldn't care less about the answer. The man straightened up and glanced about him, completely disoriented.

"Huh?" he grunted.

"You got somewhere to be?" the bartender repeated, articulate and slow.

The drunk squinted and frowned. "No." he slurred slowly.

The bartender shrugged. "Well you gotta find somewhere else to sleep, man. You can't sleep here."

The drunk scowled and chugged down the rest of his beer. It was probably flat by now. He ordered a shot of rum and downed that too before unsteadily shuffling out of his seat and staggering away from the bar with a "Put it on my tab, will ya'?" thrown over his shoulder. The bartender shrugged again and continued wiping a glass with a terry cloth. (Is that the same fucking glass as ten minutes ago?). The drunk stumbled away and left.

Sasuke swirled his glass and stared into it, elbows propped on the countertop. Orange juice. He still had a little left, swishing around thickly.

It was 11:44 in the morning.

Sasuke set down the glass and groaned quietly into his hand, rubbing it agitatedly against his face. Today, he thought with concentrated brows, was the day of his highschool graduation.

No. That wasn't it at all, was it? Correction: Today was the day Itachi would come home.

Uchiha Itachi. His brother.

Itachi, his sole living relation.

The title resonated strangely in Sasuke's mind. Like an entity floating expectantly outside his solitary bubble, detached and distant yet eternally there. Uchiha. Itachi. It didn't make sense, really.

When he was in elementary, Itachi would drive him to school. He remembered one morning they were turning through the residential corners of their neighborhood, old oak trees lining the streets and littering them with the red fallen leaves of fall and misty streaks of sunlight.  
"Itachi? What grade are you in?" Sasuke had asked. The window had been cracked open a few inches.

"Eleventh," Itachi answered. Sasuke had been proud, for some reason, to have a brother who was in such a high grade.

That was the entirety of the memory. They pulled up to the school and Sasuke jumped out onto the sodden leaves on the sidewalk. The morning air was wintry but held that campfire and woodchip smell of summer. It had probably rained the night before. "Bye Itachi!" he called before running off through the wrought iron gate. That was all he could remember of that day.

Sasuke tipped the glass back and finished the orange juice in one swallow as if he were forcing down hard liquor. He grimaced sullenly at the wooden surface before him, pretending the orange juice was vodka so maybe he could forget he was here. The countertop was glossy and almost reflective. (Why the fuck does every goddamn surface have to show my reflection?)

The girl was looking at him now, just the occasional casual glance in his direction. Sasuke gazed thoughtfully down at the glass that hung loosely from the tips of his spidery pale fingers, fingers which he tapped along the rim in lazy fluttering movements. Suddenly he dropped it back onto the wooden surface with a clunk and deliberately met the girl's eyes. She was very thin and had black hair. He supposed she might be considered pretty. She was so thin. She blushed but smirked at him and finished what remained of her drink, the ice clinking together against the chilled sides of the glass as she tilted her neck back, baring its smooth pale expanse. When she set it down again she glanced back up at Sasuke with another smile.

He glared at her. She turned away, taken aback. Soon afterwards she gathered her purse and left.

Sitting in this forlorn, dimly-lit bar Sasuke realized he could vaguely recall the sound of glass smashing about him and wondering if he'd get cut by the jagged pieces. He could remember the blurry outline of the other man's face. How his ring jabbed into his finger when he socked the asshole in the jaw. The blinding white of the strobe lights and how closely packed everyone had been.

Sasuke glanced nonchalantly over his shoulder, the black strands of his hair sheltering his face; any passerby would have sworn he didn't offer a single flare of emotion in those blank eyes.

And yet, Naruto had been angry, hadn't he? Furious. Sasuke's lips thinned as he silently studied the room behind him from the corner of his eye. His lashes fluttered once.

Over what? The fight? But Sasuke could fight whoever he fucking felt like fighting.

He frowned ever so slightly and turned back to his empty glass, angling it so he could observe the thick solid base and the way it tapered into thin translucent sides lined with distorted streaks of reflected light and the muggy residue of his drink. Obviously, he could do whatever he wanted. That was so beyond given and accepted that Sasuke couldn't even begin to form a reaction to Naruto's anger save for complete befuddlement. What was it to him? Just because he didn't get into pointless physical confrontations with random strangers very often didn't mean he couldn't do it whenever he damn well felt like it. Naruto had no place getting so pissy about it.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open. It was from Naruto, telling him he'd finished and to get over there "cuz Sakura's going all psychobitch on me lol D:"

Sasuke smirked and shut it with a snap, dropping a bill onto the counter and rising to his feet. His lean figure slouched as he placed his hands in his jeans pockets and made his way to the kitchen once again, but not before imparting one last moody glance on the place through his fringe of bangs, eyes running over the scattered tables and the occasional framed attempt at wall décor hanging across the room while glasses and silverware tinkled lightly through the greasy, smoky air. He pushed past the swinging double doors and entered the pristine hallway, where it was eerily quiet. Approaching the set of doors on the right he tentatively tried at one of them, inching it forward and stepping into the kitchen.

A sweltering heat and the distinctive smell of fried fish washed over him in a thick layer. Something was hissing and bubbling viciously in a stock pot cooking over the center counter, and a brown rice was issuing dangerous amounts of smoke as a black-haired boy Sasuke didn't know tripped to and fro down his side of the kitchen with a wooden spoon, uncovering this and stirring that and banging closed a cupboard with his knee while tossing something else into an industrial sink at the far end of the room which looked much more like a stained feeding trough filled with sudsy cooking appliances and murky water. Naruto was bent over this sink scrubbing away at a pot while the water jetted out loudly from the looped spray faucet, his back to Sasuke and his elbow jutting up and down with the rough movements. Sasuke was starting to sweat from the humidity.

At that moment a steel door in the far corner of the room slammed open revealing a harried and slightly blue-lipped Sakura amidst a mist emanating from what seemed to be a walk-in freezer. She kicked the door shut and clicked down the lever handle, tossing a vacuum-wrapped pack of indeterminate grayish lumps onto the center counter and reaching up to the metal racks above and parallel to it. She pulled down an alarmingly large butcher's knife and proceeded to loudly and rapidly chop away at the plastic, dumping out the gray lumps onto the wooden and worn cutting board. "Why don't you just tell him, Naruto?" she was shouting over the high volume whirring of a kitchen air vent as she hacked away at the frozen clumps. "He's never going to bring it up himself, even if he does remember." Her pink bangs were limply sticking to her forehead. She wiped at it with the back of her hand, the one holding the knife, and glanced up at Naruto's lack of a response. "Oi!" she shrilled suddenly. "Don't use that towel, you moron! Use the other one!"

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the outburst, starting when he noticed the gigantic butcher's knife she was wielding in his direction. Hands in the air and a striped towel hanging damply from one of them he cowered playfully into the sink, "Alright, I'm sorry! Jeez, you psycho, point that thing somewhere else!" He tossed the towel landing it on Sakura's head, and judging by the almost visibly rising hackles and the stiff way in which she whipped the towel off her face, a very unamused Sakura.

"Gah!" she spat, and swatted at Naruto's head with abandon using the same piece of damp cloth.

"Ow! Ow, stop it!" Naruto yelped from under his raised arms, laughter in his voice as he grappled the towel out of her flailing hands. He glanced up and stilled immediately when he noticed Sasuke standing forlornly by the double doors; his wide smile now seemed to be oddly tacked onto his face. "Oh. There are you are," he said in a false cheery voice, dropping his arms.

Sakura froze as well, letting the dripping knife hang limply at her side as she slowly turned her head to her right but no more as if afraid to look at Sasuke straight in the eye, or perhaps she didn't need to. She bit her bottom lip, jaw strained and head still parallel to her shoulder but tilting forward subtly like she could physically feel those black eyes boring into her profile and was flinching away. The knife twitched in her hand as she tapped it nervously.

She collected herself and took a deep breath, turning to Sasuke with a smile. "Hey, Sasuke," she said as she glanced over him in a fidgety manner and returned with all openness to her cutting board. (What's everyone fucking smiling about today?).

The chopping returned with a vengeance as Sakura diligently finished up her job, eyes trained on the rapid cleaving of the knife as she rocked it back and forth in a zigzag. Naruto absently wiped his hands on the towel in question and turned to hang it up on a rack next to the sink with a uncharacteristically serious twist to his lips but it was gone by the time he faced Sasuke once again and made his way down the aisle between the counters past a blank-faced, suddenly very concentrated Sakura with a mischievous grin. "Bye Sakura," he sang, eyeing her teasingly.

"Mhmm," she hummed vaguely. Naruto grinned more widely and looked up at Sasuke with amusement as if he was in on some grand ongoing joke instead of the exact opposite. Sasuke had approached the counter and was busy staring down Sakura, who seemed determined to ignore his presence or at least award him only the absolute minimum amount of attention.

"So…" Naruto shrugged, pursing his lips. "Let's go?" he asked Sasuke, as if Sasuke was about to suggest that they all just kick it in the kitchen for the rest of the day. But Sasuke was busy wondering what the hell Sakura knew that he didn't. He tore his gaze from her reddening face and scowled at Naruto's expectant expression.

"Yes, let's. But _where_ are we going, Naruto?" Sasuke exhaled exasperatedly after a moment, rolling his eyes.

"Eh," Naruto winced. "I guess you didn't find your ring then? Sakura hasn't seen it either," he mused, looking up at the girl in question who was as of yet violently hacking apart the bland mystery meal. He started with a sudden thought. "Hey didn't you say your shift ends at noon, Sakura? Aren't you leaving now? You want to come help us look for Sasuke's ring?" he asked in quick succession whilst prodding her between the shoulder blades with his finger once, twice, three times.

"Ugh, stop it Naruto!" Sakura whined as she shook him off, finally giving the knife a rest and glancing up at a very annoyed and surly-looking Sasuke. She paused and grinned. "You look like shit," she informed him jovially. He grunted in response.

Naruto poked her in the arm once more so she slapped at his wrist, sighed, and groaned, "Yes, Naruto, my shift ends at twelve. No, Naruto, I'm not leaving for a little while still; I'm going to finish up here first. And _hell_ no, Naruto, I don't want to come help you look for Sasuke's ring." She took the cutting board adorned with a little mound of now tiny chunks of whathaveyou, hefting it up irritably, and began to circle around the counter away from the two boys, muttering, "You two obviously have some major shit to work out and I do _not_ want to be there when you do."

Sasuke simply stared in quiet confusion as she dumped the chunks into a ready pan where they immediately began to sizzle fiercely and expel large amounts of venomous-looking white vapor. Naruto, on the other hand, scoffed loudly in outrage as if the dear memory of his great and loyal pet chihuahua, Kyuubi, had just been heartlessly insulted. He turned to Sasuke with a scowl, gripping his upper arm and commenced yanking him a foot or two towards the door. "Let's go, Sasuke," he said loudly over his shoulder in Sakura's general direction. "Sakura obviously has no idea what she's talking about. I think she's finally gone and lost it, don't you?"

Naruto really was pulling hard and maybe it was the temporary loss of dignity as Sasuke slightly tripped over the wet-area floor mats combined with the knowledge that those two were hiding something from him, as well as the fact that he still couldn't find his ring, had just handed over a hefty check to a mad-hat bar owner with huge tits, had no idea what the fuck was going on anymore, and was suffering one hell of a raging hangover, but Sasuke _really_ did not want anyone touching him just now.

Or maybe it was simply the way his heart seemed to beat thickly in his throat at the contact of Naruto's hand. (What the _fuck_?)

He dug his heels into the ground and wrenched his arm free from Naruto's grasp. "Don't touch me, dumbass," he growled quietly with downcast eyes.

Naruto stopped and stared, a strange emotion swimming rather turbulently in those blue orbs. "Fine," he retorted tonelessly after what seemed an eternity. His eyes shifted mechanically to the left, past Sasuke's shoulder and he called out, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then, Sai?" The black haired boy Sasuke didn't know glanced back briefly from something he was sautéing in a pan and raised an arm limply in a half-assed gesture of parting.

"Jerk," Naruto muttered mutinously. "Just because I burned his dumb sauce," summarily turning towards the door without looking once at Sasuke. "See you at the ceremony, Sakura," he drawled at the doors before him, not sounding too excited at the prospect.

Sakura was currently occupied banging about pots and pans as she crouched behind an open cabinet door. "Yeah, see you Naruto…" she replied absently, too busy to notice the lack of his usual exuberance. After a moment, though, it seemed she finally processed the fact that they were halfway out the door because she perked up quickly and craned her head over the cabinet, eyes wide. "Sasuke make sure he's on time! And I hope you find your ring! Good luck with your speech! And stay hydrated; those hangovers can really get to you! Bye!" she called after them all in one breath as the doors swung lightly back and forth in their wake.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was struggling to catch up to Naruto who had stormed ahead alone. The double doors leading into the main room were already swinging shut behind his suddenly quite angry friend. "Naruto!" he called through gritted teeth, shoving past the dumb thing and dodging a misplaced chair while trying to pick up his pace. Naruto didn't turn around or acknowledge his presence at all, even when Sasuke finally came up beside him slightly out of breath and clenching his jaw. "What the fuck is your problem?" he hissed. "And where are you going?"

Naruto ignored his question. "Speaking of stupid _hangovers_, and the _stupid_ people that get them, I have to take a stupid fucking piss. Restroom's this way," he ground out.

"You're acting like a little bitch, Naruto. I'm not the one that wanted to go out last night in the first place. Really, what the hell is your deal?"

Naruto scowled and walked faster, avoiding Sasuke's eyes.

"Hey!" Sasuke exclaimed, fighting to keep his voice down. A couple of people were already staring. He grabbed Naruto's arm tightly to restrain him, whipping him around so he would just stand still and look him in the face. "Look," he breathed roughly, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth in order to calm down. "Look," he started again after a moment with a harsh glare at Naruto's seething features. "Just tell me what's wrong, okay? I have no fucking idea what just happened, but whatever it is you need to work it out and fast because I just don't have the _time_." He had a hand on each of Naruto's arms now and inched slightly closer as if afraid the chairs were eavesdropping. "Look," he said for the third time except now in an almost-whisper. "I really…I really need your help, okay?" He refused to look at Naruto's face for a few seconds after he said that, but then snapped his eyes back up.

Naruto was still frowning but it was a confused, slightly surprised frown.

"My ring, remember? Itachi?" Sasuke continued coaxing in a murmur. "If I don't find it I'm _dead_. So _please_…just deal with whatever it is and let's get going." Sasuke grimaced; he knew he was practically begging, but this was an emergency.

The surprise on Naruto's face was gone, replaced by a blank and hard mask. His lips were drawn in a thin line. "Don't touch me," he said in a low, sardonic voice that promised danger.

Sasuke unclamped his hands so quickly one would think he'd been burned and suddenly he realized he was standing far too close to Naruto (why am I standing so close?) but Naruto had turned and started stalking towards the restrooms and suddenly he really was just too far away. Miles and fucking miles. Sasuke followed after him.

They were heading towards the other back corner of the establishment where there was a single black door with a round window similar to the one they had passed through near the entrance. Naruto pushed through it, trailed soon after by Sasuke, into a whitewashed hallway identical to the one leading to the kitchen and Tsunade's office. To the immediate right was the entrance to the men's room; Naruto roughly pulled open the door and went inside without caring to see if Sasuke would do the same.

Sasuke stayed in the hallway.

A few minutes passed, during which time Sasuke entertained himself by tapping his foot rapidly, clenching and unclenching his fists, and trying ever so hard not to develop an aneurysm as he grit his teeth and wondered what it was about those fluorescent lights and the silence that made each second tick by with all the weight of a fucking century.

Against the wall, there was a red bucket and a mop. He stared at the bucket and stared some more until he realized with a jolt and the glow of enlightenment that, god, he just hated that bucket _so_ fucking much. So he kicked it. Hard.

It flew forward, making surprisingly loud and satisfying bangs as it bounced off the floor and the wall in the otherwise empty hallway, leaving behind a ringing and even emptier silence when it finally spun to a stop. Sasuke nodded to himself for no apparent reason, though it looked more like a nervous twitch.

"Right," he muttered quietly. He agreed. With what, who knows?

He broadened his shoulders and stiffened his back, swiveling around and yanking open the door to the men's room with much bravado and chauvinism, ready to make Naruto listen to him through force if need be. Naruto was stressed, he was stressed—he understood this. They could fight it out. That's what Sasuke and Naruto do. \

The restroom was more dimly lit than the hallway. The floor was blandly tiled with stains of footprints and half-used paper towels. Naruto had his back to him, arms propped heavily onto the one sink in the facility; he was staring at his reflection in the beat up mirror and Sasuke could see himself like a strange apparition beyond Naruto's unresponsive gaze, silhouetted dramatically in the endless white.

He closed the door behind him softly, ripping his eyes from the mirror—it hadn't been his own image that had given him pause, but Naruto's. All traces of anger and indignation were completely gone; Naruto instead held himself up as if he were on the verge of breaking, jaw slightly clenched, his lean figure starkly vulnerable, and his eyes duller and emptier than they had been in years. He was at this moment the embodiment of dejection, and Sasuke had no idea what had brought it on.

He roused himself out of his initial hesitation and awkwardly crossed the expanse of tile to stand next to Naruto, a little closer than he had originally planned but then again, maybe it wasn't close enough. Naruto's blank expression was becoming (dare he admit it?) slightly unsettling.

"Naruto," he said. That seemed like a good place to start. No response. "Naruto." Sasuke raised a hand slowly, but an inch from Naruto's shoulder he hesitated and pulled it back. He propped himself in resignation against the grimy tiled wall, between the sink and the towel dispenser, looking at Naruto look at himself.

There was a quiet intake of breath like in rising from a deep sleep as Naruto's eyes flickered listlessly to Sasuke's face. There was no spark of recognition. Sasuke scanned the other's expression (or lack thereof) calmly. "Naruto, I'm sorry." He attempted to relay just how serious he was through the steadiness of his gaze. "I'm a jackass," he tacked on with a conceding tilt of the head, for the sake of clarity. He wasn't actually certain how that particular fact had manifested itself this time but he at least he wasn't in denial.

Naruto did not react for a few seconds but then he came to life and shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of a pestering thought, and replied, "No don't worry about it," eyes large as if he had just come to a sudden realization. He frowned slightly and turned back to his reflection in confusion. "Like, seriously…I was way out of line, man. I don't even know…the fuck? You know?" he finished, slightly high-pitched and with the distinct demeanor of someone flailing for a handhold on the sheer face of a cliff.

If Sasuke hadn't been so involved in the situation, he would have found the rising degree of panic on Naruto's face almost comical. But as it was, he was involved. And he needed…answers. Just, you know, in general.

Naruto was still staring expectantly at him, as if he was hanging on the miraculous and all-revealing response to "you know?" he apparently hoped Sasuke would provide him with.

Sasuke exhaled through his mouth and tilted his head back against the tiles to narrow his eyes at the flickering ceiling light fixtures. He vaguely and idly wondered, wouldn't it be funny if there was a blackout right now? Death to post-urban fluorescence and fluorescent adolescents; and he and Naruto would still be stumbling about in the dark, arms stretched out but getting heavy with the suspense of finding the switch.

"If it makes you feel any better," he mused, breaking the silence with a smirk, eyes still playing on the ceiling patterns, "when I asked you oh-so-politely not to touch me, I didn't mean _ever_. You can touch me all you want Naruto, if it's that important to you."

He pursed his lips up in silent laughter and rolled his head to the side in order to peer amusedly at Naruto, not bothering to lift it off the wall. Naruto looked like he'd just been bitch-slapped by Yogi Bear himself: cheeks tinted pink and his mouth hanging open.

Sasuke stared and scowled at the reaction. "A joke, Naruto," he drawled dryly. "Cue laughter. Please, try not to get too caught up on my raging homosexuality." He rolled his eyes.

Naruto seemed to come to his senses because he snapped his mouth shut and cocked an eyebrow for a few priceless moments before snorting loudly and falling into a chuckling fit, glancing up at Sasuke every few seconds only to fall back harder into the laughter.

Sure he was terribly offended and was trying desperately to frown, but at the sound of Naruto's politically incorrect chortles Sasuke couldn't help but smile. Just a little—_tiny_—smile.

"What the hell are you laughing at, you moron?" he demanded.

"Huh?" Naruto gasped, still laughing. "I'm not! Nothing. Just..oh." He gave up and cackled.

"Hn." Sasuke pushed himself off the wall, eyeing Naruto's idiocy with another smirk. For some reason he had the sudden feeling that everything that had been going wrong this morning was somehow intrinsically tied into those strange periods filled with a new awkwardness, and the unexplained anger, and Naruto just not _laughing_ as usual. It was, loathe as Sasuke was to admit it to himself, a sound he was relieved to hear. (Since when has Naruto being a dumbass been the measure of how my day's going?) "So," he ventured into the crude mirth echoing off the filthy tiles of the restroom, "What are we fighting about again?"

Naruto stilled and quieted down at the question, but the smile never completely left his face. He grinned openly at Sasuke and just stared for a few seconds before shrugging with a lift of the eyebrows. "You know what Sasuke?" he replied. "I just realized it's not important—no, I mean it," he reinforced when Sasuke made to object. He spoke thoughtfully and earnestly, gazing down at the sink. "Maybe I'll tell you some day…we'll probably just have a laugh over it—it's stupid." He shook his head and shrugged again.

Was Sasuke seeing things or was that smile…bitter?

In any case it was with a clean one that Naruto looked back up, a mischievous glint in his eye. He reached an arm out slowly, deliberately, and daringly pressed his open palm on Sasuke's chest. "Touch," he announced triumphantly, his famous shit-eating grin present in all its glory.

"Moron." Sasuke snorted. He paled when, quite suddenly, he found himself struggling not to reveal his growing panic.

"What's this?" Naruto was teasing in mock wonder. "Gasp. Do I feel…a heartbeat? Sasuke has…a heart?"

Sasuke growled in annoyance. "You just love pushing it, don't you Naruto?" he grit out. But he didn't swat the hand away. He'd show the moron. Naruto's grin only grew.

"Of course. Who else is there?" he shot back, staring a little intensely at Sasuke. His gaze drifted down slowly past Sasuke's face and came to a stop at the hand. Neither of them moved, Sasuke's eyes trained on Naruto like glue, Naruto gazing at his hand with a sort of strange fascination. He breathed in deeply and slowly. Sasuke felt a wave of tingling wash down his arms like a shudder. The lights flickered again.

Suddenly Naruto stepped away, slipping his hands casually into his pockets like nothing and started moving towards the door, the moment broken. "So you wanna go, then?" he asked, looking back at Sasuke who had stayed rooted to the spot. His voice betrayed nothing and so Sasuke decided two really should play at that game.

"Yes, let's," he responded with his usual blank face, and strolled calmly behind Naruto as they passed through the doorway, exiting the restroom. "Where are you going?" he asked, pausing in the middle of the hallway. Instead of heading back into the main room Naruto was walking towards the other end of the corridor.

"Uh, there's an exit here that goes into the alley. It's quicker this way." Naruto stopped at the third and last door on the right past the women's room and pushed it open with a grinning glance at Sasuke, his features obscured as the white glare of the day filled into the gap. "You _should_ know this, Great Hangover Man; this is how we made our super stealthy getaway last night."

Sasuke scowled. "Great Hangover Man?" he repeated, enunciating the words incredulously. "That had better not become a _thing_, Naruto. Or I'll have your balls." The scorching heat of noon gusted through the door as Sasuke approached the other boy.

"Oho, I wouldn't dream of it," Naruto laughed over his shoulder, and exited the building with Sasuke at his heels. "Aw, shit." Sasuke heard him mutter.

The door thudded shut behind them.

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Review plz


	6. Chapter 5

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**C H A P T E R F I V E**

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They were in a dusty and abandoned alleyway occupied by empty crates stacked up against the wall, strewn-about odd pieces of faded cardboard, a dumpster worked over in graffiti, and brown weeds present against all odds along the edges of the building. The calcite brightness of the hallway dimmed in comparison to the strip of cloudless blue above their heads, and although it was relatively shaded here in the narrow space between two buildings the air was dry and hot, the dirt tan and granular.

Naruto was frowning at Sakura who was leaning nonchalantly against the exterior of the bar to the right of the door they had come through, gazing at them stoically from the corner of her eye and smoking a cigarette. Underneath her apron she had been wearing nondescript biker shorts and flat ankle boots. Her hair had been freed from the ponytail, now cutting angularly across her cheekbones.

"Gah! When'd you get here?" Naruto exclaimed. "And what have I told you—you're ending up like Shikamaru! He smokes like, what, three packs a day?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Since when do you smoke?" Sasuke couldn't help asking, turning to face her.

Naruto snapped his head towards Sasuke, mouth slightly open, and Sakura raised her brows delicately. "Um," Naruto replied. "Since like, two months ago?" He tittered and shook his head. Sasuke shifted his weight and put his hands in his pockets. (_Well_ then). "Where the hell have you been, Sasuke?" Naruto was snickering. "Welcome back to Earth, Great Hangover Man." Naruto shoved Sasuke's shoulder playfully, ignoring the sharp scowl that was gracing the other's features.

"I take it you wouldn't mind parting with a certain specific organ, then?"

"Oh shut up, Hangover Man, you're such a dweeb. You just want some of this don't you?" Naruto grinned cockily, lifting his brows and biting the tip of his tongue between his teeth.

Sasuke snorted and pushed back, trying to hide an imminent burst of laughter behind twitching lips. "God, moron!"

"Oh please, only call me by my given name in public, Hangover Man."

"I already do that. Moron." Sasuke deadpanned.

"The other one you bastard!" Naruto objected. Sasuke smirked.

Naruto broke out into chortles, eyeing Sasuke amusedly, but on a glance at Sakura he froze. She had been looking between the two boys with a complacent smirk of her own, tapping ashes lazily off the end of her cigarette.

"What? What's that look?" Naruto demanded severely, all set for a grand inquisition. He was practically pointing in accusation.

Sakura lifted the cigarette to her thin lips and took a long drag, turning her head away from him to observe the end of the alley and the bright gap of street beyond it. A car rolled by. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she declared with a lilting tease to her voice.

Naruto scoffed disbelievingly. "Well whatever you thought you were looking at doesn't exist, okay? That's right, you were looking at nothing!" Naruto focused a determined glare on Sakura until she turned back to face him, still smirking.

"Yeah I was looking at nothing," she agreed easily. Suddenly her face hardened and she frowned, standing stiffly with one arm across her abdomen supporting the elbow of the other from which she dangled her cigarette at shoulder level. "And it's going to _stay_ at nothing, Naruto, if you don't—"

"Sakura!" Naruto interrupted, angry now.

This was about the time when Sasuke decided that his two friends had been abducted and replaced by aliens. "Uh, Naruto?" he queried politely. "What the hell is going on?" He never thought the day would come when he'd be asking Naruto why he was being a jackass instead of the other way around. Actually, he could get used to this. Always typecast as the bad guy—it gets tiring.

Naruto seemed to withdraw into himself at Sasuke's question. "Nothing, that's what's going on," he muttered, scanning Sakura's scowling face resentfully. "Just, you can't trust girls with anything or they go and blab about it."

Sakura flicked her cigarette sharply and glared. "I'm not _blabbing_, jerk, I'm trying to help. And taking it out on the entire female sex isn't going to do anything." She paused and snorted. "Though, you know…" she tapered off, motioning at Naruto vaguely.

Naruto rocked back on his heels, eyebrows raised in disbelief. He nodded and looked away, a little too silent and calm for safety.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Shaking her head she took one last drag of the cigarette and dropped it on the floor, grinding it down noisily with the heel of her boot. "Alright Naruto," she announced loudly, making him glance up at her. "Whatever. I'm sorry. Do what you want." Her eyes flickered briefly at Sasuke, who stared back in confusion. She pushed off from the wall. "I gotta go. Um…" she rubbed thoughtfully at the legs of her shorts, looking down. "You guys left the building this way last night, right? Maybe you should take a look around. Sasuke might have dropped his ring around here…So…see ya." She shrugged and smiled a timid smile, peeking up at the two from under her bangs before turning briskly and heading towards the street.

Beside Sasuke, Naruto groaned and rubbed fitfully at the back of his neck. He looked to the side, biting his lip, and then snapped his head up again. "Wait! Sakura," he called after her, reaching out an arm as if he could stop her when she was already halfway to the road. She paused and twisted around. He winced. "Thanks, okay?" he blurted awkwardly, cupping his mouth with his hands so she could hear and craning a little on his toes. She didn't react for a moment but then lifted an arm and waved, smiling and continuing on her way. Naruto laughed lightly and turned to Sasuke with a grin. And then his face fell.

"So, Naruto…what the fuck was that about?" Sasuke inquired silkily after a second or two, mouth set in a menacing little twist of feigned nicety and thoroughly enjoying the way Naruto's expression was starting to bring to mind a cornered animal.

Naruto swallowed, throat dry. "Like I said Sasuke," he carefully replied, eyeing the other boy warily, "nothing."

"Ah," Sasuke breathed, exaggerating the lift of his brows. He nodded and stuffed his hands in his jeans with a smirk. "Nothing."

"Yep." Naruto cleared his throat and kicked at a dusty shard of glass by his foot, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

Sasuke chewed the inside of his cheek for a while, staring thoughtfully at a very uncomfortable Naruto. "Alright," he interjected suddenly into the silence, turning away a little and sighing. "You don't have to tell me. I just…I mean, why the hell does Sakura know and not me?" he asked in a bitter tone, almost immediately biting his lip on reflex and turning back to Naruto with guarded eyes as if he hadn't meant to be say that.

Naruto looked pained; head down and grimacing, one hand on his hip and the other bothering nervously at his neck again. "Look, uh…" He really was suffering in this situation.

Sasuke exhaled and looked to the side, staring blindly at the weathered and stained wall. "Nevermind."

"No, I…"

"Just drop it Naruto. It's okay. Let's just…let's look around for my ring."

"Um…yeah, okay." Naruto dropped his arm and stood tensely, staring at Sasuke like he was expecting him to turn around and announce that it really wasn't okay at all and to say farewell to his gonads.

Sasuke, instead, was kicking aside an old warped piece of cardboard propped up against a wall in order to check under it, glancing about him at any hint of something reflective and smooth in the littered floor of the alley. He paused suddenly and turned to glare at Naruto. "Well? Are you just going to stand there all day?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Naruto jumped and scurried to action, crouching to check behind a stack of boxes.

…_[The previous night]…_

_Sasuke was gasping for air splayed on the dance floor. Naruto had him by the collar and everything was happening around him. _

_He was yanked up roughly and Naruto was pushing through everyone, ignoring the angry stares as he interrupted their frenzied dancing._

_Sasuke stumbled forward past chairs, he hit one with his knee and Naruto's hand was gripping his wrist, when did that get there? _

_Hmm. He lolled in time to the beating music. And stumbled. Good, it was much cooler here almost cold. Naruto that dumbass yanked him forward was he pissed off or something, and he fell through a door and suddenly it was much quieter here and he had to hold himself up on his knees and arms to study the tiles. Why was everything white? It was all silent now. _

_Naruto dragged him up harshly and he was against the wall and still gasping for air. He felt like he was going to throw up. _

"_What the FUCK is your problem?" Naruto was yelling. He was so angry. _

_Sasuke didn't get it. He didn't get it? "What?" he said. What. _

"_What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Naruto yelled._

_Sasuke knocked his head back against the wall and laughed. Hey that hurt! He laughed. _

"_Naruto!" he slurred. "What are you talking about?" _

_Naruto growled exasperatedly and let him go and Sasuke toppled to his knees and stared at the ground and something about the vinyl tiles and the fake little flecks made him want to puke. He gasped for air. _

_He was pulled to his feet again and Naruto was dragging him along down the hallway and Sasuke didn't know if it would ever end but Naruto was pushing open a door and outside was the outside. _

_Sasuke twitched his neck sideways and gasped; god it was cold! Like, so cold! _

_Naruto pulled him outside and he could breathe in the space and the air and there was no one out here at all. The night fell heavy around them, Sasuke almost laughed with it all. _

_He stumbled forward and the dirt crunched. Ha ha! Naruto he called. He hoped Naruto heard him. Naruto._

_He was still gasping for air and the world spun around him as he leaned his arms on his knees, hunched over. _

"_What?' Naruto muttered. They were alone outside in the alley. _

"_What?"_

_Naruto had let go of him Sasuke realized. He was all the way five feet away. Like five whole feet, Naruto. _

_Sasuke tripped on something and he landed hard on his palms and they burned, it was dirt and rough, and he leaned back on the wall then because it was there. Why wasn't there enough fucking air? The world spun._

_Naruto was suddenly in front of him. He looks worried about something. "Sasuke?" Sasuke gasped for air and twisted his neck to the side, away from the face so he could breathe right. _

_And there was a door that slammed open and a man staggered outside, doubled over. His eyes glinted and his hair fell around his face and he looked at Sasuke, bent over. _

_Sasuke looked and looked. He had an earring and Sasuke scowled. That was the man, wasn't he? That was him! _

_Naruto was grabbing his arms tightly. Naruto, that's him? What's his problem? The man was bleeding from his cheek and nose and he sneered at Sasuke and stumbled forward. He spit on the floor. Nasty and thick! And he turned and staggered away to the other street. Into the darkness. Maybe there weren't any lights that way, like there were to the street. Sasuke laughed. Hey fuck you! He felt like yelling. Was he yelling, maybe?_

_His head banged the wall roughly. He was shaking—Naruto was shaking him. "Hey are you okay?" _

_No! Ha ha ha what a joke! What a great question, a classic!_

"_Are you okay, Sasuke." Sasuke looked at Naruto. He looked at his eyes and they were so wide and so blue. Ha ha ha!_

"_Yeah," he said. Yeah he was fine! Couldn't Naruto fucking tell?  
Naruto was staring and staring. "Yeah?" Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was fucking cold out here and the gravel was rough under him. He realized his knees were bent towards him._

_Naruto had a grip on him but them he dropped him like in disgust. "Good," Naruto said. I'm okay Sasuke thought. And Sasuke was dropped and alone against the wall. Ha ha Naruto... _

_And Naruto was walking away, was he angry or something. There was a little orange light above them. He looked up. What a light, an alley light jutting out from the wall! He was in a yellow circle of it, and his knees were bent up towards him. _

_Where the fuck did Naruto go? Sasuke twisted his neck to the side and he was gasping for air. Too much! He drank too fucking much! He was about to puke!_

_The tight feeling in his stomach went away but he didn't trust it. He banged his head against the wall and it hurt a lot but it was a detached kind of pain. _

_After a while he felt something on his cheek soft and warm and he looked and it was Sakura. Hello Sakura and she was worried. "Sasuke." Well yes. Hello, Sakura._

_Naruto had left him alone! Where the fuck was Naruto? _

"_Come on let's get you out of here," Sakura was announcing. Let's go. And Sasuke was pulled up and it smelled like dry dirt and even though he was cold he could feel the heat of the day radiate off the walls and floor and Sakura was leading him forward to somewhere lighter. Look! The street light. That was the street. Sasuke tripped on his feet. _

_Sakura yanked him forward by the arm and he tripped but they were in the street light and there was entrance they had gone through into the bar. Who were all those people Sasuke wondered. _

_Sasuke looked around and everyone was staring. Hello I'm here. That was Gaara and also the tattoo guy was there from when he was fighting the other guy. Hello. Kiba. _

_And Naruto! What the fuck was Naruto doing here? Hey, fuck you. He had left him back there alone. Where it was cold and where the other guy had been. Hello Naruto. _

_Ino. "Hey let's go eat somewhere!" Did she say that? Was it spelled right? Everyone was decided. Let's go eat everyone. And everyone agreed but where was the place?_

_Where was the place, Naruto? Sasuke stumbled up to him in the yellow light of the street lamp and it was cold out here and people were just standing around in their clothes and he could hear the music coming from inside the bar and he could hear everyone. Everyone they were all there. _

_Naruto under the street light and he looked still angry maybe. Hello Naruto, your skin gleams yellow under the street lamp and I am moonstruck. What the fuck, they were going somewhere, weren't they? He wasn't so drunk until he tried talking and it didn't really come out right. Naruto? Naruto. Some people were laughing weren't they? _

_Naruto, where are we going? But Naruto was grinning now laughing along with everyone and he had his hands in his pockets and his breaths were making white vapor in the street lamp night. Ha ha! Hey Naruto. _

_I did say I'm sorry. So sorry. _

_They were going somewhere to eat. How would Naruto get there, Sasuke was staring at Naruto and maybe the other one didn't notice but he was like really close. Really close! Naruto I can breathe you, didn't you notice. Hello! _

_And Naruto was chuckling uneasy maybe and his hands were in his pocket. Hey, Naruto. They were going to go eat. But Sasuke wasn't hungry, only really [low chuckle] really drunk. I'm drunk Naruto. _

_Naruto was backing away, when did he get that close to him? Sasuke felt very cold under the street lamp and the dance music from inside the bar was still slamming into his head. He bit his lip harshly and wondered why people were afraid of hurting. It doesn't hurt at all! You just push it far enough. _

_He started laughing like low wheezing and someone had their hand behind him so he turned and found it was Sakura. Oh, hello. He was pushed and suddenly there was a car before him. Shiny silver in the lamp light and no one else was on the empty street, he couldn't see anything else at all. He was pushed into the empty seat. Where was he? In a car but whose car?_

_He rubbed his head against the cold window and it was fogging up so he couldn't see a thing. Not a thing! Where was Naruto! They were moving along and the bar was far behind them. Far, far behind. Where the fuck was Naruto? He didn't know. Naruto wasn't sitting in his row in the car so he didn't know. He rubbed his head against the cold window and frowned so everyone would know he was fucking pissed off. Fuck them! He needed it so Naruto would be there but they took him away. And they were in the car and driving away and Sasuke was looking out the window, frowning and the street lights whizzed by. People were laughing in his car. Hands on their knees and laughing and alive and wide eyed but he was staring at the yellow street lamps and the shady buildings whiz by in the cold dark. Oh hello. _

_What the fuck am I doing?_

_Someone maybe heard his thoughts because they said, "Oh we're going to get some food." Calm and quiet but then they we're laughing. No seriously! Where the fuck is Naruto? And they kept rolling down the street and there was more laughing. Maybe he was wrong? What._

_Naruto wasn't fucking here in this car, was he? _

_But probably he was in another car, wasn't he? Why would he do that. And they were there soon and Naruto was in another car. To get food. _

-------------

"Yeah…Sasuke, kiddo. I can't find it."

Sasuke stopped rummaging under a pile of discarded, deconstructed boxes and rocked back on his heels into an exhausted squat and squinted up at Naruto. He could feel a single drop of sweat trailing its way down his brow. Naruto was standing over him, all his weight on his left leg, and stretching an arm up to scratch his nape, the other on his hip. He had discarded his hoodie in the hot sun; under it he was wearing a simple white v-neck, the collar slightly darkened with sweat. "Don't call me that," Sasuke grumbled, glancing away.

Naruto groaned a little and licked his lips, dropping his arm. "It's fucking hot, man," he said.

Sasuke pulled his hand through his bangs and got to his feet. He too had discarded his blazer, setting it carefully atop a teetering column of wooden crates. The tight black tee he had under wasn't helping much with the heat, however.

"Really?" he couldn't help asking. It wasn't his fault 'sarcasm' and 'Sasuke' have such lovely alliterative potential. Naruto simply groaned again and looked up at some wiring crossing the alley above their heads, vivid black and slack against the neon sky.

He turned back to Sasuke with a thoughtful shrug of his lips, observing him carefully. "No luck?"

Sasuke sighed and looked away, hand running through his hair again. "No."

Naruto eyed him for a moment. "Let's go for food, yeah? I really don't think it's here."

It was Sasuke's turn to groan and he creased his eyes in irritation. "Didn't we _just_ eat, loser?" he muttered, sullenly kicking at a dented can of Miller by their feet.

"Yeah, like two whole hours ago!"

Sasuke snorted. "God forbid you die of starvation, you poor thing."

Naruto rolled his eyes and looked around for his hoodie, spotting it hanging precariously off a splintery beam sticking out of the dumpster. He headed for it. "Let's _go_," he whined over his shoulder. "There's this great new thing Sasuke—you'll love it—it happens everyday at noon and it's called lunch." He grabbed the hoodie and slung it over his shoulder, turning to face Sasuke with a grin. "Chill out, dude. The next place we need to check is that old diner on 5th street anyway—we'll just eat there, and you then can inspect the grounds to your heart's content."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto from where he stood across the alley. The dumpster was beginning to let off a sickly reek in the heat of the day. "Just how many places did we go to last night?"

"Uhm…" Naruto crossed his arms and grimaced. "Ok well we went to the movies with Sakura—you remember that—but you had your ring here at the bar so you couldn't have lost it there, so that leaves here—which we already checked—and then the diner after you got us all kicked out, and then…that convenience store that's like three blocks down from it—we stopped by so that Gaara could pick up some more booze, he knows the night shift guy—and after that we all kicked it at Gaara's until like, what…five in the morning?"

Sasuke had his eyebrows raised, mildly staggered by the work that was possibly cut out for them, and exhaled loudly. "Well yeah, Gaara, I remember that one," he admitted after a silence, glancing up the alley towards the street.

Naruto grinned cockily. "Well of course you do," he allowed, "That's where I, Naruto Uzumaki, saved your pitiful life." He sent a smirk Sasuke's way.

Sasuke eyed him doubtfully. "Whatever, loser. More like it's because I remember dog boy pushing me into the fucking pool—that water was motherfucking _cold_."

Naruto let out a peal of laughter and grinned at the littered, uneven pavement under their feet, sunlight glinting off his shaggy locks of hair. He hooked his thumbs in his pocket and started scuffing his way slowly towards the street. "I know dude. I was the one who had to jump in to pull you out."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but he couldn't hold back the small smile that had erupted onto his features. "Yeah, alright. Let's go," he surrendered with a sigh in the general direction of Naruto's back, whipping his blazer off the stack of crates and beating out the dust and splinters while trailing in the other's steps.

The gravel crunched under their feet. At the opening of the alley onto the sidewalk Naruto squinted as the sunlight hit him in the eyes. "I fucking hate this weather," he said. The air was burning up dry around them and some distance down the street there was a black quivering mirage on the asphalt, the distorted waves of heat rising above it; there was not a breeze to be felt for miles around.

Sasuke's eyes flickered towards Naruto and he shrugged. "It's not so bad." He walked around his car, still there despite the faulty meter, and dug in his pocket for his keys. Naruto was peering at him over the roof of the car from the passenger side, his face still scrunched in the brightness and a hand impatiently grabbing the door handle.

Sasuke glanced up at him and smirked. He found his keys and dangled them up in the air for Naruto to see, brows raised.

Naruto stared at him and gave him a strange look. Sasuke didn't move. "This is the part where you unlock the doors, Sasuke," he kindly informed him.

Sasuke grinned. "What's the rush, Naruto?" he inquired innocently.

"Uh, it's fucking hot?"

Sasuke jingled the keys and tried not to laugh at Naruto's growing annoyance.

"Bastard."

Sasuke snorted and finally clicked the remote lock, not waiting for Naruto's reaction as he opened his door and slipped onto the hot leather seat. (God, it's a fucking _oven_ in here). He yanked the door shut with a thud.

Naruto landed onto his own seat roughly, irked, and slammed his door. "Ugh, quick the air conditioner," he pleaded, buckling his seatbelt.

Sasuke turned the keys in the ignition and his sleek black RX8 rumbled to life. Pulling out and making a swerving U-turn on the spot, he reached for the A/C and set it on high. Naruto immediately stuck his face up close to the vent and sighed happily. "I love your car so much, Sasuke," he mumbled, probably not completely aware of the words that were coming out of his mouth.

Sasuke glanced at him and wrinkled up his nose in disgust. "Sit back, moron, you're going to get sweat on my dashboard."

Naruto chuckled and, straightening up, grabbed Sasuke's blazer off said boy's lap and chucked it onto the back seat along with his hoodie. "Hey is that a new blazer?" he asked suddenly, turning back to look at Sasuke.

"No," Sasuke replied vacuously, keeping his eyes on the road, "It's Itachi's." Naruto fell quiet at the name, scanning Sasuke's face somewhat worriedly. Sasuke's gaze flickered towards him briefly and he scowled. "5th and what?" he bit out, taking a preemptive strike on the subject of his brother.

"Huh?"

"The diner, loser. I presume that's where we're going?"

"Oh um, South Olive. We've been there before, you know."

"Yeah once, not counting last night."

Naruto sighed exaggeratedly in pretend exasperation. "Whatever."

Sasuke rolled through an empty intersection with minimal consideration for the stop sign and made a right turn. "You know, I'm not really hungry," he said thoughtfully.

Naruto leaned his elbow on the door armrest, and smiled a half-hearted smile of condolence. "Hangover's a bitch, huh?"

Sasuke turned his pensive gaze on Naruto. "Hn. So I'll just take a look around. You can eat if you want."

Naruto played distractedly with the lobe of his ear, eyeing the moody driver. "It won't take long…Come on dude; I'm hungry but I don't want to eat if you're not going to."

"Ugh," Sasuke snorted. "Lay off the estrogen."

"Hey screw you, alright?"

"Is that an offer?"

"Just get a juice or something."

"Whatever."

"Alright then."

"Moron."

"Bastard."

"Hn."  
"Hey! Unless mine eyes deceive me, I spy a Nine Inch Nails CD." Naruto made an unannounced dive for it, messily pushing aside the leafy assortment of maps and nondescript papers in the outer storage units of the glove compartment in order to pull out the scratched, worn CD case while Sasuke alternated his glares between the road and the overexcited Naruto, trying to restrain the idiot from wrecking the inside of his car.

"Calm down, dumbass." The car skidded to a stop just in time at a red light. A lot more papers were now on the floor of the car than in the slot.

"Hey, this is the one I gave you for your birthday last year," Naruto announced after a quiet second, followed by a chuckle of disbelief. "I thought you said you threw it out the window, or something?" He looked up questioningly.

"Well, I didn't _actually_ throw it out the window loser," Sasuke grumbled, checking his rear view mirror as the line of cars started moving again and only half paying attention to the conversation. He looked back and noticed with mild irritation the grin in full bloom on Naruto's face. "Why the _hell_ would I throw something out a window, Naruto? You weren't shutting up about it, but I didn't think you'd actually believe me."

"I don't know…It is you after all." Naruto looked down at the case like it was Christmas come early. "Hey remember that concert we went to last summer?" He glanced up, still grinning like an idiot.

"Uh…yes?" Sasuke ventured. (Is he checking for Alzheimer's now?).

"That was fun wasn't it?"

"Um, yeah…" Sasuke distinctly recalled how little fun it actually had been.

"Remember those chicks we met? They were pretty cool. Sucks we never heard from them—and they said they were from around here too…"

"Yes." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "A real pity."

Naruto stared for a moment and then snorted. "Whatever, let's listen to it, yeah?" He waved the case around vaguely.

"No, don't, we're almost there," Sasuke snapped as Naruto proceeded to open the case and made for the controls on the dashboard. They were turning onto a monotonous downtown street of concrete business fronts relatively busy with traffic and pedestrians, all the more with the ongoing construction near the middle—the wooden scaffolding rising stories above the sidewalk slumped, paint-stained, precarious, and in an eternal state of abandonment. Even the peeling posters chaotically plastered to the temporary wooden boarding lining the sidewalk were for months-old theater productions.

Naruto ignored Sasuke and pushed the eject button for the disc already in the player, replacing it with the one in his hand. "You know, it looked pretty beat up, Sasuke," he prompted as he skipped gleefully forward to the second track. "Don't tell me you harbor a secret love for the genius that is NIN, a band you once labeled—and I quote—'the biggest steaming pile of self-indulgent crap I've ever encountered?'"

Sasuke sneered uncomfortably and realized that it was suddenly very important that he check his sideview mirror, "_No_…"

Naruto simply flashed an impish grin, having pressed play and already singing along with gusto. "Hey pig, yeah you, hey pig piggy pig pig pig, all of my fears came true…" He nodded his head idiotically to the slinking, slow beat and the crooning male voice.

"God, _shut up_ Naruto." Sasuke grimaced and swatted blindly in the other boy's direction. It was a well known fact that singing was _not_ included in Naruto's repertoire of talents.

Naruto dodged the hand and laughed, turning up the volume. "Hey pig, nothing's turning out the way I planned…uh, naa na na [mumbles]…you could help me understand!" he resumed loudly, eyes twinkling in amusement as he watched Sasuke cringe away irritably.

"You don't even know the words!" Sasuke complained, seriously considering gagging Naruto and stowing him in the trunk. It was a very spacious trunk.

"And you do?" Naruto retorted, obscenely delighted at Sasuke's expense.

They had reached the diner in question, whereupon Sasuke had pulled into an obscure little drive immediately past it, walled in by the gray multistory buildings, chain link fencing and a beaten sign reading 'PARKING FOR ROSALIE'S DINER ONLY.' It led around back into a tiny and mostly empty parking enclosure. Sasuke turned into a spot and smirked at Naruto pointedly as he turned the key in the ignition, abruptly cutting off the flow of music. Naruto's horrid singing trailed off and he narrowed his eyes petulantly at Sasuke, who merely rolled his own and pushed open his door, stepping out. It wasn't nearly so hot here in the shaded concrete backlot as it had been in the sun parched barren streets around Hokage's, but still the air was dry and searing and the strewn garbage trapped where the fencing met the weeds seemed all the more pitiful and ugly in its dusty, fading desiccation. It was quiet and deserted, the noisy street muted by the drab buildings. Ridged concrete steps with a white-painted pole railing led to the back iron screen door of the diner. Next to the steps stood an open, green dumpster brimming with glossy trash bags.

Naruto jogged up behind Sasuke who had already started making his fast-paced way back through the side driveway towards the front entrance. "Hey wait up, bastard!"

Sasuke lifted his brows at him in bored acknowledgement and continued stalking briskly down the cracked and sun-bleached asphalt. Naruto who, as per usual, was employing far too much momentum and energy for the most elementary of tasks stumbled into step next to his detached companion, almost tripping forward—arms flailing and heels digging—but catching himself and straightening up with face-saving ease into a casual stroll, adding a nonchalant glance towards Sasuke to boot. After a moment he grinned mischievously and began swinging his arms and legs stiffly in a militaristic march. "Oh look at me," he mocked in a gruff voice. "I'm a man on a mission. What lands await my looming presence? Why, the all-night diner! Nothing will deter me from my goal!"

Sasuke eyed him dubiously from the corner of his eye as he walked, a smirk twitching at his lips. His arm suddenly lurched out to shove Naruto's shoulder playfully. Naruto laughed and staggered a few feet to the side, for the moment abandoning his ambitions at developing the perfect Sasuke impression, but he recuperated quickly with a snort and fell back into easy step with the other boy, hands clasped lazily behind his head.

* * *

How cute.

- I was obsessed with NIN for most of highschool.

- True story: The other day I was walking down 5th Street from the Central Library to grab lunch at the Subway across from Pershing Square, and I stop at the corner of 5th and South Olive and I see this restaurant: Sai Sai - Modern Asian Cuisine. It made me laugh outloud. Sadly, there was no one around that would get the joke with me. T.T

- Review please

--nostratic


	7. Chapter 6

Has anyone ever read 'Naked Lunch' by William S. Burroughs? You all should.

Aqui teneis vos el sexto capitulo.

* * *

**C H A P T E R S I X**

* * *

They rounded the corner onto the gum-stained sidewalk, approaching the awning-shaded entrance to the diner. It boasted a homey 'open' sign hanging on the inside of the glass and two potted ficus bushes flanking each side of the door like leafy sentinels. Naruto unclasped his hands with a sigh and flopped his arm onto the handle, heaving the door open heavily and following after the black-clad Sasuke into the air conditioned comfort of the diner. An electronic buzzer signaling their entrance chimed quietly behind them as the door swung closed, shutting out the noises of the passing cars and the activity of the congested city road.

The diner was well lit with the brightness of the day flooding through a row of uncurtained windows facing the street, one each to a neat booth with red plastic cushioning. The tiles were checkered retro and framed black-and-whites of Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando lined the gentle pink sides of the room. A counter ran before most of back wall; behind it an open doorway and a steel service window, little white order slips fringing the lintel, provided glimpses into the kitchen. Sasuke hovered uncertainly in the entranceway, slouching as he scowled at a pair of old women with teased hair and browning bagging faces that had looked up vaguely from their tinkling silverware and coffees at the two newcomers. Farther down, in the corner, sat a thin balding man poring over a Chinese newspaper through thick glasses. The place was slow and no-nonsense, apathetically old-fashioned—and the regulars were loyal because of it.

"Come on."

Sasuke turned at the light tap to his arm; Naruto was motioning with his head towards an empty table on the other side of the entrance. He followed to the booth and sat sullenly on the cheaply cushioned seat, watching as Naruto lowered himself down with much bustle across from him, practically rubbing his hands together in cheery anticipation. He sucked on his lower lip and awarded Sasuke a raise of the eyebrows as if to say "Well, here we are." The sun cut brightly across one side of Naruto's face, luring out myriad flecks of lighter tones in his hair and throwing the other half of his features into slightly cooler shades. His eyes were half-lidded as he gazed down with mild interest at the salt and pepper shakers, reaching out a hand to lazily align them so that one guarded each side of the napkin dispenser, their reflections indistinct and distorted in the metallic exterior.

Naruto noticed the laminated colorful brochure jutting up at an angle from the wire holder behind the dispenser and grabbed it. It was the lunch menu so he opened it and laid it out flat on the table before him, eyes running thoughtfully down the different options. "So what are you getting?" he asked Sasuke without looking up.

Sasuke had been dolefully studying the female employee behind the counter working the business-grade espresso machine, a big hulking affair in drab stainless steel. He couldn't say much more for the woman. His eyes spun back to Naruto at the query, lips pulled into a frown. "How long is this going to take?" he shot back touchily.

Naruto glanced up, a smile threatening at his mouth, and shrugged. Crossing his arms Sasuke glared out the window, squinting a little and clearly unamused, so Naruto leaned back comfortably into the back of his seat with a true smile now and lightly kicked Sasuke's foot under the table. "Hey," he called, aiming for the other's boy attention. Sasuke whipped his head back and scowled dangerously but Naruto simply smirked. "We've still got like six hours, okay? Chill, we'll find it."

Sasuke's scowl wavered and he avoided Naruto's gaze, glancing out the window again and looking oddly resentful. "You can't be sure of that," he muttered dourly.

"Sure I can!" Naruto insisted, deepening his voice pompously like he was taking on the character of a genial old Englishman. "I have faith in us!" he rallied, slapping a hand down on the table top.

Sasuke's eyes roved back to Naruto's face in mild incredulity before he smirked, breaking out into quiet snickers. "You're an idiot," he announced conclusively. Naruto grinned.

Sasuke sighed, eyes still slightly creased in amusement, and he too leaned back into his seat, running his eyes musingly around the calm and comfortable interior of the diner. "So…where were we sitting last night?" he asked Naruto, looking back across the table at him. Naruto had returned to his detailed study of the menu, but looked up at the question.

"Um…" he seemed strangely sheepish. He peered over his shoulder at the booths running down the side wall that led to the restrooms. "Well _I_ was sitting over in that last booth with, um, Gaara and Hinata and Kiba," he answered. "You were sitting in the next booth where that couple is, with Sakura and Ino I think."

Sasuke stared, meeting Naruto's eyes questioningly once he had turned back (Why the _hell _would I sit with Sakura and Ino?). Naruto looked uncomfortable and slightly unhappy; he simply shrugged and frowned at the table. After a moment he leaned an elbow on its surface and slowly turned his head again to idly observe the couple sitting by the wall. "I suppose unless you feel like asking them to move, we'll just have to wait until they leave before we take a look around," he deliberated, tugging absently at his earlobe.

Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze silently. It was a young couple, the girl pretty and primly dressed in a pencil skirt and pumps, the guy in slacks and a pale blue button-up with the arms casually rolled up; they were probably out for a mini-date on their lunch break from office jobs. She was digging into a salad, he into a rice and chicken as they talked animatedly or nodded as they chewed, eyeing each other brightly over their drinks. What most stood out about them, though, was how simply and blatantly _happy_ they were. The way she would laugh vivaciously at the odd comment, and the way he leaned forward and really looked at her through the shaggy auburn hair that framed his brow told it all.

Naruto seemed lost in thought as he stared. Sasuke scowled, somewhat annoyed with the scene, and once again bestowed his brooding glare on the window, watching the cars and pedestrians pass by from beyond his dim, suspended reflection. He glanced again at Naruto after a moment; the other boy had turned back in the meantime and was now slouching pensively over the menu, biting his lip. A silence passed with Sasuke patiently scanning Naruto's downturned face. He looked straight up at Sasuke suddenly, starting a little when he realized Sasuke was already staring back. "Uh…" he opened his mouth as if to say something, brows creased slightly, but just at that moment a waitress appeared next to their table wearing an unflattering pink uniform and an equally unflattering expression of boredom.

"Welcome to Rosalie's Diner, may I take your orders," she droned in the direction of her notepad, completely lacking any inflection or impetus whatsoever. She glanced up vapidly but when her gaze fell on the surly Sasuke the transformation that subsequently overcame her entire demeanor was almost laughable. "Or I could come back later if you're not ready yet? I'd recommend the steak myself, they're coming out just…_delicious_ today," she purred brightly with a glowing smile, eyes trained on Sasuke who was under the distinct impression that she had decided that he was the only one at the table.

Naruto was glaring attentively between the two, mouth hanging slightly open. "Um," he coughed suddenly, "He's not interested!" The waitress turned to him with a sneer of vague disgust.

"Excuse me?"

"No, I mean...." Naruto rushed to amend, waving his hand and looking bashful. "What I meant was, he's not interested in the steak. He'll just…be having a drink. Right, Sasuke?" He chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head, sending Sasuke a silent, pleading look. Sasuke caught it and smirked ominously.

"What on earth are you going on about, Naruto?" he drawled smoothly, looking up at the waitress with a charming smile that caused her to practically combust on the spot. "You know, I think I will be having that steak, uh, Melissa," he squinted at her name tag. "Thank you so much for your recommendation," he finished, eyeing her with a seductive little upward twist to his lips.

"Um!" she squeaked, scribbling on her notepad and blushing furiously. "Anything to go with that?"

"Oh," he gracefully tossed his bangs out of his face with another smirk. "Whatever usually goes with the steak, Melissa," he replied pleasantly. "I'll let you decide."

"Drink?" Poor Melissa asked breathlessly. She seemed to be progressively losing her command of the English language.

"Coffee, black," Sasuke answered with a warm hint of good humor in his voice. He was struggling to avoid glancing at the look of horror nailed to Naruto's face—it would ruin his act.

"It'll be just a moment!" Melissa peeped, red as a tomato now, and turned on the spot to make her way to the kitchen.

"Hey!" Naruto called irately after her, "Melissa!" She paused and looked around at her name, apparently startled to see someone else sitting at the table. "Yeah, and I'll be having the double cheeseburger, no tomatoes, no pickles, extra sauce, with a side of fries but hold the salt, a small Caesar but no croutons—I hate those things—and a Diet Pepsi! Why don't you write that down on your little notepad!" The waitress scowled and scribbled something extremely brief on the pad before resuming her way behind the counter. Naruto glared intensely after her for a minute but then whirled back to fume to at the still smirking Sasuke, gripping his hands on the edge of the table and leaning forward angrily. "What the hell are you doing, Sasuke?" he whispered harshly. "What the fuck happened to 'I'm not really hungry and you can just eat while I look around for my ring?'"

Sasuke stared back without flinching. "I'm _not_ hungry. Would you like my steak, Naruto?" he asked in smug politeness.

Naruto growled in response, pointing a finger accusingly across the table. "You're a fucking sadistic, _show-off_, egotistical _bastard_, you know that?" he hissed. "You don't even _like_…you know! But you go and lead them on whenever you're bored or whatever, just because you can since you're Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Fuck-Me! That's unfair! Give everyone else a goddamn chance!"

Sasuke drummed his fingers innocently on the table top, cocking an eyebrow at the outburst and trying not to burst out laughing. "Why, Naruto," he stated, "Are you…jealous?"

Naruto pushed back from the table like it was burning coal and crossed his arms, scowling and quite suddenly wanting to withdraw from the conversation he had initiated. "Of you?" he responded after a second with a quavering laugh in his voice. "Hell no." He was glaring over at the kitchen, avoiding Sasuke's searching eyes.

"Naruto…" Sasuke ventured thoughtfully. "I never specified of whom."

Naruto's eyes shot back warily to Sasuke's face, looking abruptly frightened of something. "What?"

Sasuke didn't clarify, instead taking in Naruto's face with a calm and coldly analytical gaze. He shrugged and observed the fake granite pattern of the table top. "Obviously, I was just messing around Naruto. You don't _like_ her do you?" he glanced up with a small trace of disgust in his tone, raising his brows expectantly.

Naruto eyed him cautiously. After a while he shook his head tiredly. "No, I don't like her."

Sasuke smirked. "Well then. What's all the fuss about?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and whipped a napkin out the dispenser moodily. "Look, just drop it, alright?" He proceeded to angrily and gradually rip the paper into shreds, piece by piece and apparently taking comfort in his methodical destruction. Eventually Naruto had a little pile of white wispy scraps on the table before him. He looked up to see if there were any signs of their food arriving soon; negative—so he took a second napkin and commenced to deliver the same treatment. Sasuke, for his part, leaned his head back on his seat and gazed languidly out the window, not bothering to fix the bangs that had fallen over his eyes.

After some minutes of relatively bearable silence the waitress finally returned with their orders, making quite a show setting down the steak and mashed potatoes before Sasuke along with his coffee and a flirty smile that dropped confusedly when she realized that Sasuke, for some unfathomable reason, was no longer even glancing at her. She turned to Naruto sulkily. "And your cheeseburger," she muttered at him, shoving the pile of napkin shreds aside with the plate so that half of it fell into Naruto's lap. "Oops sorry." She had fallen back to the standard drone and bored expression, setting down the soda and two sets of eating utensils before mumbling, "Enjoy," and stalking off with the tray.

Sasuke reached for his steaming mug and took a sip, observing stoically as Naruto frowned at his lap and began picking off the napkin shreds and dropping them quite deliberately and visibly onto the floor next to the table, muttering under his breath. Sasuke then had another sip of coffee, impassive still, as Naruto took a tentative bite of his burger and grimaced, setting it back down on the plate "Bitch put extra pickles! What the fuck!" he growled to himself, peeling off the top bun and carefully picking out the pickles with his fingers, occasionally dropping one onto the floor instead of his plate, then repeating the process for the second layer. He looked endearingly put out.

"So do you want my steak?" Sasuke asked, eyeing him amusedly over his third sip.

Naruto glanced up sourly and shook his head. "No thanks," he muttered.

"Mashed potatoes?" Sasuke prodded, his amusement now audible in his voice.

"Fuck you, Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged and smirked, taking his fourth sip. "We should've asked her whether someone had turned in my ring," he mused after a while.

"Maybe you should call her back. I bet she'd love that," Naruto mumbled bitterly over a mouthful of cheeseburger, tetchily stabbing a fry with his fork.

Sasuke sniggered out loud at that and smirked at the window.

"What?"

"Hm?" Sasuke turned back innocently, brows raised in question.

"What the hell are you laughing at, you bastard?"

"Nothing!" Sasuke assured, ignoring the laugh that escaped his mouth with the word and glancing around in mock confusion. \

Naruto scoffed and returned to his burger. "Whatever," he mumbled.

Sasuke watched Naruto chew his bulging bite of burger and swallow it down with a swig of Pepsi. After the burger he moved on to the fries, which apparently hadn't been sabotaged by the kitchen. "So…" Naruto started in an oddly serious tone after a minute, swallowing and poking at a fry or two. He glanced up severely at Sasuke. "How long is Itachi staying for?"

Sasuke overcame his slight shock at the sudden change of subject, exhaling and letting his eyes run down the counter along the opposite wall. "Uh, like a few days," he answered cautiously. "He can't take much time off work."

Naruto nodded over a mouth of fries. "Yeah I've noticed. You haven't seen him in like what, two years?"

"Something like that," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto scanned Sasuke's face carefully, apparently searching for words. He settled for, "You okay? With seeing him today, I mean?"

Sasuke snorted and looked away again, his permanent scowl back in place. "Who are you? Freud? I'm fine."

"No, I'm just asking. I mean, you were pretty pissed when he just up and left. Especially since…since your parents…"

Sasuke turned a fierce glare on Naruto's slightly concerned face. "Look, I know what happened, alright? It's not like we haven't talked since; he calls me once in a while, etcetera. I'm fine."

"Alright, fine," Naruto appeased, lifting his brows as he gazed down at his plate with a minute shake of the head and bit off another fry. "Don't worry Sasuke. I know better than anyone, alright, that you don't need mothering. You've been able to deal with a whole mess of other shit, so you can probably deal with this too." He looked up, chewing. "But still. I had to ask." He shrugged.

Sasuke didn't respond, instead watching with a sullen frown as Naruto casually continued eating.

"Does he know?" Naruto spoke up again, grabbing for his glass and observing Sasuke over the rim as he took a gulp of Pepsi.

"Know what?"

"You know…" Naruto rolled his eyes and waved his hand around vaguely.

"…That I'm gay?" Sasuke drawled, blasé.

"Yeah. Does he know?"

Sasuke sighed and reached out to straighten his knife so it was more perfectly parallel to the fork. "No, he doesn't."

"Are you going to tell him?"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto who was disinterestedly observing the textured pattern on the glass, not meeting Sasuke's eyes. "I don't know," Sasuke replied, wincing as he imagined a possible future scenario in which he admits his sexuality to his brother. To _Itachi_. "Probably not," he continued. "I don't see the point—how the fuck is it any of his business anyway?"

"Uh, he's your brother?" Naruto suggested mildly. "Maybe he should know something that important about you. It'd be better to tell him now than pop the news when, you know, you're in something serious…"

Sasuke glumly contemplated Naruto's plate, more empty now than full. "He's not much a brother," he muttered almost inaudibly, but Naruto heard him anyway.

"Nevertheless," Naruto stressed, pointing a limp fry at Sasuke in half-serious admonishment, a smile skirting his lips.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto downed the fry in one bite and a grin. He sat pensively for a moment before placing his elbows on the table and hunching forward impatiently, his food untouched. "You done yet?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged and frowned. "We don't have to talk about Itachi if you don't want to, Sasuke," he grumbled, looking down at the last of his fries.

"No, I mean with your food, dumbass."

"Oh…I guess." Naruto glanced up. "Why?"

"Because that couple just left. We should go."

Naruto grinned impishly. "Well, get the check."

"Why me? I didn't eat." Sasuke objected irately.

"A, not my problem; B, the waitress hates me; C, I'm dirt poor; and D, I got breakfast." Naruto spun off quickly in response, smiling triumphantly when Sasuke scoffed and glared at his cold steak but didn't answer. Naruto craned his head around looking for the waitress in question, spotting her near the other end of the diner carrying an empty tray, and commenced waving in assumed merriment and good humor to catch her attention. She glanced up and frowned, making her way to their table and glowering at the little mess of napkin shreds and pickles on the floor.

"The bill, please," Naruto announced, sending her an overly-polite, sardonic smile.

She scowled, deciding to ignore the mess, instead asking blandly, "Will that be separate or together?" Turning towards Sasuke, she noticed his obviously untouched plate. "Oh, was there something wrong with your order? If there was, we can deduct it from your bill of course," she fussed sweetly.

Sasuke smirked. "Oh no, the steak was absolutely delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The _bill_," he echoed, "—together, please."

"Uh…" the waitress floundered, looking confused. "Yes, the bill. That will be just a moment." And she left.

Naruto sniggered in her wake. "_Dumb_ bitch," he muttered. Sasuke tried not to laugh at him.

She returned soon with the little black book, handing it to Sasuke with one last shy smile before leaving again. Sasuke ignored her, digging a few bills out of his wallet disinterestedly and throwing them inside the book with a bored glance at the receipt. He paused and snorted, though, sneaking a quick glance at Naruto who was busy downing the rest of his Pepsi.

"What?" Naruto asked, not having missed the look.

Wordlessly, Sasuke held up the receipt so Naruto could read it, watching with a knowing smirk as the blue eyes scanned the paper up and down. Suddenly, Naruto choked on air and stiffened.

"Her _number_? She gave you her _number_?" he hissed incredulously, looking up and around to see if he could spot the little wench. Unfortunately, she had made herself scarce.

"It would appear so," Sasuke replied amusedly, eyes trained on Naruto.

"Gimme that!" Naruto ripped the receipt out of Sasuke's hand, sounding like a mother scolding her child for playing with something filthy it had found on the street.

Sasuke laughed, arching a brow. "You don't _want_ it, do you?"

"Fuck that!" Naruto yelped indignantly, ripping off the corner of the receipt infected by the tidy scrawl and the little 'heart Melissa.' He shredded it roughly into miniscule pieces and let them flutter slowly down to add to the mess already on the floor in the white dying haze of a girl's pathetic dreams. "Let's go," he grumbled, throwing down the rest of the receipt onto the table and scooting his way out the seat, but not before pushing all the remaining shreds of napkin that _hadn't_ found their way to the floor the first time around to their rightful location.

Sasuke snorted and stood up as well, stepping gingerly around the puddle of pickles n' things and stretching a little. He shoved his hands in his jeans and made his way purposefully over to the second to last booth on the side wall where the couple had been sitting earlier, and where he apparently had been sitting the night before. It still hadn't been wiped down; the table was littered with plates piled up with half-eaten food, dirty silverware and used napkins. Grains of rice and bread crumbs were strewn carelessly about the gray surface. Sasuke glossed over the area grimly, looking up with a frown when Naruto came up beside him. "Go ask the lady behind the counter if anyone turned in my ring," he said.

Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke's tone and swiveled on the spot, muttering, "Yessir." As he left to carry out his given duty Sasuke crawled onto one of the seats on his knees, checking the indent between the seat and back cushions with his fingers as he had in Hokage's. On the second seat he thought he had found something but it turned out to be only a bottle cap when he pulled it out. Supporting himself by an elbow, he craned his head under the table and scanned the floor: a lot of dust, some old food, and a straw wrapper—but no ring. He sighed and backed out of the seat, ignoring the strange stares he was receiving from a frumpy middle-aged woman at a window booth.

When he straightened up and turned around he saw that Naruto was walking slowly towards him, eyebrows raised and lips pursed; Sasuke could immediately tell he hadn't had any luck either.

"She said no one had mentioned anything about it, but that if it turns up, she'll call. I left her your number," he announced with a grin when he had reached the spot where Sasuke was slouching dully and scanning the nearby tables just to be certain his ring wasn't there. "She kinda seemed happy about that when I pointed out who you were…" he continued, pretending to bemusedly contemplate why that might be. At Sasuke's disgusted grimace he chuckled. "Then again, it might just have been because all we could see of you at the moment was your tight little ass poking inconspicuously out of a wall booth." He gave an exaggerated wink and made a saucy 'ok' sign with his hand.

Sasuke almost gagged. "Hulky espresso machine woman? _Her_?"

Naruto tried to hide his grin but failed miserably. "Yeah," he nodded, laughter riddling his voice but then he dropped it to a conspiratorial whisper. "Her name is Marge, and you know, she doesn't look half bad for a fifty year old…"

Sasuke roughly pushed him away at the mental image in horror, ignoring the rude chortles Naruto was letting off. "Dude I'm just playing with you," he wheezed out, still laughing, "You should see your face!" After a second or so something seemed to have passed through his mind, however, because he abruptly sobered and gave Sasuke a concerned sort of stare. "I did actually give her your number though."

Sasuke shrugged irritably, still slightly traumatized. "Whatever. Maybe she'll find it," he muttered and started making his way to the door. "Let's get out of here before your little friend _Melissa_ comes sneaking back for a lock of my hair or something…"

Naruto laughed out loud at that and trailed after Sasuke towards the entrance, pausing while the other boy pushed open the door then stepping outside to observe the busy street, squinting in the sunlight. Sasuke exited behind him and immediately started his making way back to the lot in the direction from whence they had come.

Naruto made to follow but paused suddenly, rubbing his neck. "Uh…Sasuke! Wait, come back!"

Sasuke paused and turned around, a confused scowl on his face. "What for?"

"No, I just want to check something. Come on," he replied, walking backwards to make sure Sasuke was following and then swiveling on the spot and moving towards the other end of the diner, out from under the awning and past the sun-bleached bricks and dusty windows of the building. Cars zoomed by.

He paused and stared down a narrow space between the diner and the dilapidated apartment high-rise next to it. Sasuke paused next to him, peering into the shadowed gap completely obscured by darkness except for the bright thin glimpse of the parking lot at the other end. It was fenced off a few feet in, creating a small inlet of space off the sidewalk occupied by a grimy, unattended trashcan and other indeterminate litter. It stunk vaguely of urine.

"Fascinating," Sasuke commented after a moment of silence.

Naruto scoffed, looking around carefully at the concrete underneath their feet. "Your ring might be around here, genius. Probably not though…" he looked up at Sasuke's dubious expression.

"What the hell was I doing here?" Sasuke asked, grimacing at some pale stains on the ground inchoately reminiscent of primordial slime and wondering if he really wanted to know.

"To put it nicely, you were puking your guts out."

Sasuke hastily stepped back a foot or two, wincing in disgust. "Ugh, what the fuck!" He glared at the condemning evidence on the ground; apparently he had aimed for the trashcan and missed by a foot or two. "Fuck this, let's go. It's not here." He fiercely denied to himself that the heat he felt running up his face had to do with anything but the goddamn sun.

Naruto was laughing at him, eyes shining with amusement. "What's that saying?" he snickered, jauntily propping himself up against the rough bricks of the apartment building. "You can't chug your booze and keep it down too, or something?"

"Fuck you," Sasuke muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and starting to turn away from the scene of the crime. "It's not here, so let's go."

Naruto chuckled and pushed off from the wall, catching up with Sasuke's incensed stride. "I'm just messing with you, man. You drank enough shots to down a horse—I was actually surprised you hadn't gone and puked all over yourself before that…"

"Just shut up, moron!"

…_[The previous night]…_

_The night was unnaturally cold. Sasuke needed very much to know where they were. He stumbled out of the car and tripped on the curb. Why were they at a diner? He wasn't hungry. And also, where was Naruto? Sakura was right next to him again, pushing him into the diner. "Gaara had to park in the back," she was saying. Oh right. Naruto was in Gaara's car. _

_Inside it was bright and pink and the ceiling lights glowed yellow in the night and suddenly they were sitting at a table. Sasuke leaned his head against the wallpaper and breathed deeply, staring closely at the subtle pattern. His stomach was tight again with all the whiskey. Ino was smiling at him. Mona Lisa. And they were laughing still. Who the fuck knows what they were talking about._

_A waitress was standing at their table. Sasuke didn't order anything, he couldn't even open his mouth. Didn't have control over those muscles right now. There were menus? Sakura was talking to her. And Naruto was walking into the diner behind the waitress and he wasn't looking at Sasuke again. Kiba and Gaara were there also and that girl Hinata and they sat at the table behind them. Loud loud loud. Sasuke couldn't talk anymore. His eyes fell closed suddenly and immediately he was falling, the tightness in his stomach spiraling out of control and everything was tilting. And then he was lifting his head off the table and there was food in front of him. Sakura had ordered for him. He had moved too fast and the tight feeling was back, his throat was blocked up and tense and his head was swimming. Get up, get up. Sasuke pushed past Sakura and stumbled, stumbled. He was at the glass door where the dark, smog-hued sky loomed and pushed outside into the chilly sharp dry night. God that was the worst feeling in the world in his gut and the air helped some but still. To the left. Not in front of the restaurant. He staggered and there was a little space between buildings—concrete and damp air and soggy trashy weeds—and his insides were pressing down on him and building up and he couldn't breath at all, his stomach was straining drunkenly, painfully. He threw up three times into the dark. When he looked up again, wiping his mouth and gasping and hating the sick, foolish taste in his mouth, Naruto was there. He was there. Naruto. _

"_Hey," Naruto said. He smiled a little smile but his eyes were still hard. Sasuke stared blankly. "Everything okay?"_

_Sasuke swayed on the spot. "Yeah," he answered. His voice felt thick. "Fine." Naruto stared and laughed a little._

"_I can tell," he said. _

_Sasuke turned away and stared at his vomit. Naruto laughed again.  
Naruto was closer now, wasn't he. So Sasuke looked up. So close._

_He breathed in sharply. Naruto. _

_There was a hand running down his face; Naruto looking concerned, brows furrowed and really close and whispering loudly into the boulevard night. "You're really drunk Sasuke. Sure you're okay? I'll drive you to your apartment…" _

_Sasuke shook his head into the fingers, slowly. "M'okay." _

_Naruto peered at him carefully. "Sure?"  
"I said yeah." _

_Naruto drew his hand back a little. His dark dark blue eyes flickered to and fro on Sasuke's face. "Whatever, jerk," he murmured appeasingly. "We're going to Gaara's after, just so you know." Sasuke stared and then looked up into the sky thoughtfully. "Looking at the stars?" Naruto asked, glancing up with his hands in his pockets, shivering coolly in the darkness. _

"_What stars?" Sasuke slurred after a minute. Naruto shrugged and was staring when Sasuke turned to him. "I'm sorry," Sasuke said for no reason at all. He really was drunk. Drunk drunk. He almost swayed forward._

_Naruto shrugged again and looked towards the street. Avoiding Sasuke's eyes and hands in his pockets. _

"_Whatever," he said. "It's not important."_

_Sasuke couldn't even remember what it was he was sorry about. It was quiet now. No cars. All quiet. Only Sasuke was still breathing a foot from Naruto. Still standing there and no reason, really, to move away. Breathing and breathing once again. Blue eyes turning back to him a dark sea in the alley night._

_The hand was back on Sasuke's cheek now, moving silently, silkily back and forth. Sasuke breathed in deeply and closed his eyes to the hand. He couldn't help it. Gentle and soft and warm and unlike anything. _

_A car pulled up to the diner, loudly rumbling and sudden. The window was rolled down and Neji's face was leaning into in the space. He looked questioningly at Naruto and Sasuke. "Is Hinata inside?" he asked worriedly without intro. _

_Naruto had pulled away rapidly. "Yeah , she is!" he yelled back. Mask on. "Thanks for coming, I didn't think we'd be able to reach you!" _

_Neji pulled into a newly empty spot in front of the diner. Naruto was walking away and Sasuke followed. Talking to Neji about something. "Jackass…E… Hinata and Sasuke…etc…." was what Sasuke caught. Neji was staring at him stangely. Thye walked into the diner, where it was warm and bright and went to where their friends were against the wall. Hinata smiled vacuously when she noticed Neji. "Hi!" she said happily. Sasuke sat down on his seat next to Sakura. He was tired and Sakura was staring at him. Neji and Hinata left after a while, his arm around her shoulder protectively. She was giggling again. _

_Sasuke closed his eyes._

_Naruto had him by the arm now. They were walking out of the diner, and still the fucking laughing. He didn't fucking need it, didn't they see? Didn't want any of it. All he fucking needed was—_

_Sasuke's plate of food was left intact. _

-------------

They walked tenderly in the silent heat to Sasuke's Mazda. If they moved too quickly in the sluggish, burning torridity, they could catch on fire. Sasuke squinted up at the angular edges where brick multistories met blue sky. Mercilessly blue geometric cuts of sky.

Sasuke knew this type of heat had nothing to do with anonymous vomit on sidewalks. The heat of the Southwest is the type that swelters around you and beats you into the withering ground.

"The convenience store is up three blocks, on Willow Creek," Naruto informed the asphalt.

Sasuke took out his keys and unlocked the car.

* * *

I bid thee review, ye knaves.

--nostratic.

Postscript: I am listening to Portishead.


	8. Chapter 7

And months later, I return. I'd like to take this moment to apologize to my readers, all six of you. Hah. No but seriously, this fic is on my mind more often than the severe lack of updates would suggest. I've got five more chapters written for this (though it's still not complete) and will update every few days. Just finished my first quarter of college and am free for the holidays, so I hope to finish writing this before the year's up. Who knows how that will go.

By the way, I changed the humor category to friendship, because it's just not that funny anymore.

* * *

**C H A P T E R S E V E N**

* * *

Willow Creek was this: there was a flood control canal that ran through the city and the old industrial sector and also the suburbs that was deep and rectangular and concrete, intersected occasionally by bridged roads held together with the pale bulky steel of infrastructure. It was always empty, just miles and miles of stained concrete, except for the two days a year where the gray wetness all around might be considered rain. Sometimes there were smooth, flat puddles that pulled splotches of crystalline sky into the ugly endless channel and made it bleed red and pink with smoggy sunsets. After a while, the puddles grew over with soggy brown hues of algae and bacteria like a vast gouache gone wrong and they no longer reflected the sky. On rare instances, a tipped over and rusting shopping cart adorned the polluted expanse. Whenever Naruto happened to drive over Willow Creek, past the scrawling graffiti on the thin street lamps and the gangs of boys with shirts halfway rolled up standing on their speeding bikes, he'd glance down it as far as he could see; one usually couldn't see so far where he lived, there were always buildings and signs obscuring the horizon. During these instances he would sometimes also remember the camping trip to the mountains Iruka had taken him on when he was eleven. They had hiked a trail one afternoon and the trail crossed what the map called 'Dobler Creek' and when they reached it Naruto had been amazed to see that there was actual running water. A real, honest-to-god mountain creek. 'Look, Iruka! A river!' he had cried. He didn't understand then why Iruka had laughed when he said that. On that same camping trip, driving up the curving two-lane road skirting the steep mountain slopes and overlooking the huge ridges across from them—the biggest view, the biggest thing Naruto had ever seen, it took up the entire world and rolled miles down into the narrow valley, it was trees and more trees and just the massive presence of the range washed in soft morning haze—Naruto saw the horizon for the first time in his life. Before them they could see a dip in the range and at this altitude a stretch of land beyond it as well, and then the far-away thin, bleary line where earth met sky. It smelled like pine trees and the dawning sun.

In any case, there was a certain street that intersected Willow Creek at a certain location, and this street was also called Willow Creek. It was down this particular street, right where it crossed over the bone-dry canal towards the sweltering, weathered buildings outside of downtown, that Sasuke was currently accelerating his fast and very cool car. He was 'stepping on it' and most definitely not thinking about mountain creeks or horizons. Rather, he was wondering whether the unstable tightening in his stomach and the tension in his head was a result of anxiety or alcohol abuse. Not that it mattered much either way, but thinking about that meant he didn't have to think about the fact that Naruto was doing _it_ again. Well, not that he cared much about that either or anything. It simply was irritating and uncalled for and strange. (And goddamnit, why don't I just _ask_ the moron if it bothers me so much?)

Sasuke glanced to the right. Naruto was gazing silently out the window at the passing brick and concrete buildings as he had been for the past three minutes, one arm stretched up languidly supporting his head. Sasuke snorted. (Who does he think he is, looking so _calm_…)

Sasuke pushed down on the accelerator; if he hadn't been speeding before, he definitely was now. "What the hell is with you today?" he finally grumbled, quietly, as if he didn't actually want the question heard.

Naruto shifted his head towards Sasuke and peered at him. The way his arm was raised made his v-neck ride up a little on his abdomen. Oh, _risqué_. Sasuke snorted again, and realized he felt like an idiot.

"Huh?" Naruto elocuted after a contemplative moment.

Sasuke grimaced. "You're such a moron."

"What the fuck?" Naruto asked in the same tone as before. The hand that he had been employing as neck pillow was raised absently above his head, fingers spread in a gesture of confusion.

"_Why_," Sasuke grit out, glaring at the van in the next lane as if explaining was a very painful process, "are you being so fucking…" He sighed in frustration and avoided Naruto's gaze. "Just…nevermind."

He drove in fuming silence for a while, but could feel Naruto's eyes still on him. Scowling and slightly defensive he snapped his gaze towards Naruto once again. "What?"

Naruto didn't answer, but something in his expression made Sasuke bite his lip and calm down a little before turning back to the road. Naruto didn't look confused anymore; in fact the small frown and the carefully blank eyes suggested that Naruto knew exactly what Sasuke was talking about. But then he dropped his arm to his lap tiredly and glumly observed the glove compartment. "I already told you, Sasuke. It's nothing, I'm fine." He shrugged limply. "I am having a bad day," he announced mechanically, pasting a label onto his overall behavior.

Sasuke scoffed. "_You're_ having a bad day?" he muttered, raising his brows absently and switching lanes.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am," Naruto replied defensively, sniffing a little. "Sure, _your_ day just sucks balls, man…I mean, you can't really get much…" he trailed off with a weak chuckle at Sasuke's narrowed eyes. "But as far as days go, mine is definitely not in the top ten."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke growled. He didn't know why Naruto claiming his day was going badly irritated him so much. "Please explain how the fuck you're having a bad day, because it seems to have escaped me."

"Well," Naruto started, his face and voice oddly diplomatic and a little loud, "well, uh, you're not the only one with a hangover, for one. And, you know, that sucks."

Sasuke let off a derisive laugh and smirked at the sideview mirror.

"And…well and the thing with Tsunade. The old hag! I'm going to have work tomorrow, you know that?" Naruto was practically yelping, determined to defend his state of suck to a dubious Sasuke. "Tomorrow! The day after my highschool graduation!"

"She's paying you," Sasuke sighed. He had a feeling Tsunade wouldn't be too thrilled when she discovered tomorrow via a very loud and annoying Naruto that Sasuke had told him—but he really didn't give a shit.

"What?" Naruto said. That had knocked him out of his indignation.

"She's paying you," Sasuke repeated blankly, glancing at him once, "at the end of the week. She told me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes; Sasuke could practically hear the gears clunking in his head. Suddenly, his very riled up passenger gasped in horror. "The crazy, _conniving_…gah! She knows I'm not taking money from anyone! That is just _sneaky_." Naruto curled a fist and glared at the windshield. "Why the fuck doesn't anyone believe that I'm fine on my own?" he burst out angrily after a teeth-grinding moment. "Well, I'm not going back. See how she likes that." It was said in a standard growl of irritation, but the twist to his mouth and the stiffness of his shoulders betrayed how hurt he really was.

Sasuke frowned at the threat, eyes suddenly dangerous and jaw set. "If you don't go back, I'm transferring whatever amount she was going to give you directly into your bank account," he informed Naruto in a sharp voice. "It will be from me. And I'll tell you it's not charity, but you'll be convinced otherwise."

Naruto glared, partly in shock and partly in great offense. "No. You. Won't."

Sasuke simply smirked.

Naruto stared for a moment and then nodded bitterly at the gesture, an acidic smile distorting his mouth. "Yeah. Yeah, that right there is _also_ why I've been having a bad day. You and your stupid hangover and your jerk-off attitude. Not that I don't get where you're coming from, Sasuke, but could you give it a rest, you asshole? As if last night wasn't confusing enough—" Naruto clamped his mouth shut right where his tone had been loudest, clenching his jaw furiously and ignoring the fact that in the abrupt wake of silence, Sasuke was staring. Naruto's eyes shifted uncomfortably and he turned slightly towards his window. "You can park right up here," he said. "That's the convenience store."

A wide dusty street with cracked asphalt, and up ahead the intersection; but then again it was always cracked on this side of the city. Palm trees and telephone wires. Sasuke's dashboard announced the temperature to be a murky 102F. The convenience store was small and of questionable repute outfitted in dirty stucco and a faded lighted sign that probably only partly worked at night: 'BIG BOB'S MART.' It was between a taco joint and a tan multistory with a banner reading in red block letters, 'OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE.' Sasuke pulled up to the curb behind an old yellow Volvo and turned the key in the ignition. He stayed seated, playing with his keys.

"You know I can't remember anything from last night," he said coldly after a moment, slightly turned towards Naruto but looking out at the street. His eyes shifted smoothly and he stared Naruto down. "So whatever I did, hold it against me all you fucking want but it's not like I knew what I was doing. I'm not going to apologize."

Naruto had a frozen look, mouth slightly open. At Sasuke's determined silence he ripped his eyes away and quickly shut his mouth, the lines of his face hardening almost visibly. "Yeah. You didn't mean it," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. His bangs fell back over his downcast eyes in the usual disarray, and Sasuke wondered why he couldn't figure out that tone of voice. It was strangely flat and detached. Naruto seemed to have run out of things to say, which was unusual, and stared at his shoes.

Sasuke flipped his keys around his finger in a jerky movement, eyes on Naruto, and wished cars didn't make the presence of people so blatantly _there_. He felt like he was in a goddamn confessional. Now that the car was off, the heat of the day was oozing oppressively into the enclosed space. "You're going tomorrow," he said. "At least Sakura will make sure that you earn it."

Naruto scowled, giving Sasuke nothing but an angry glance before shoving his door open and stepping out of the car. "Whatever," he growled, slamming it shut and starting towards the store.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and quickly hauled himself out after him, locking the car and letting the lights flash behind him as he jogged onto the curb, slowing to a fast walk when he reached Naruto's side. "Just swallow your goddamn pride, will you?" he hissed out of the corner of his mouth, not looking at his insulted friend and irritated that he was even having this conversation in the first place. Naruto let out an angry bark of laughter.

"Look who's fucking talking!"

"Fuck you, 'kay?" Sasuke snapped. This wasn't worth his time. He glanced down the street irately; cars were crossing the intersection, a heavy man waited on a corner in the distance. The sun and heat made everything dusty and just slightly distorted and tinted in pale tan. The doorway to the convenience store was propped open before them, business hours, cigarette brands, the current lotto announced on colorfully faded signs peering through the dirty glass. It was dim inside and Sasuke paused for a moment under the cool gust of air at the entrance to let his eyes adjust. He ignored Naruto's seething presence beside him.

Inside, the mart felt unkempt like a storehouse, what with concrete flooring that turned filthy under the old steel shelving units lined up roughly to make a couple of shoulder-high aisles. Aging boxes of chemical sweets and yellow-wrapped chocolate, plastic packages of kiddy treats gathering dust on hooks. Stacks of condoms and shoe talc, and crates of canned food; the wealth of the neighborly convenience store. Along the far wall was the refrigerated section, and the beer.

"Sasuke."

Said boy glanced at Naruto, who was off by a vending machine and fingering the hem of his shirt in a disgruntled manner. He looked up as if just realizing that he was now expected to say something: blue eyes falling on Sasuke's frown and then skimming away across the aisles of cheaply manufactured food and home items. "…Thanks," he said, angry still but Sasuke thought maybe not at him.

Sasuke didn't know what to do, and Naruto's eyes had turned back already and were looking at him, so he let a scowl slip through and glanced stiffly at the cash register in the opposite corner as if he really had better things to do than accept Naruto's random apologies. The boxes of cigarettes and the hard liquor were stored against the wall behind the chipped counter covered in sticker ads and peeled federal warnings. The ceiling was lined with fluorescent tube fixtures but they barely appeared to function; the ratty filthiness of the store seemed to suck in all the light, leaving it like a cave and the blinding white opening to the lazy street outside (cars rolling by indistinctly) was the only escape hole. Quiet Thursday afternoons, cool concrete.

Sasuke turned back to Naruto and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Next to him hung cheerful packs of brandless gummy worms and trail mix. Opening his mouth, closing it, looking down at his chucks, then turning and raking iron eyes along the naked floor. "I'm going to look around for my ring," he said. After a moment, Naruto moved behind him. He brushed past him in the aisle, hardly making any real contact, and walked towards the register side of the store and Sasuke wondered why when he glanced up at Naruto's receding back he found himself feeling like he shouldn't be looking.

The floor was smooth and stained bright in some spots, darkened and blotchy in others with wear. Grime and dust was accumulated along the floor of the shelving units, along with old price tags and stray wrappers. Cardboard boxes with sun logos in green print over letters announcing some unknown town in California were stacked up against the wall, which from what Sasuke could see was lined with newspaper. But his ring was not there and Sasuke sneaked another glance at Naruto who had stopped over by the cash register. (What the fuck is wrong with me?) And so Sasuke made his way to the counter.

Naruto was standing with his legs slightly spread, a jaunty little stance with his hands shoved deep in his jeans pockets and his shoulders hunched; he was staring up at the glass bottles of alcohol in various colors and shapes lined on the wall racks behind the counter. His arms ran taut and tan from the white short sleeves of his v-neck. He had the type of physique that could stretch luxuriously into whatever awkward teenage pose simply because he had no fat bits, no imperfections to hide. And if he did, he wouldn't have cared anyway. He was eighteen and it felt good. He was summer, raw and natural and a little smelly, but that was fine. The comforts of a lean stomach. Sasuke stopped beside him and stared at his profile.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Naruto's eyes glanced at him from the corners, then roved back up to the liquor displayed before them as a tiny smile tugged at his lips. "Waiting for the cashier to fucking get out here. Look," he jutted his chin out and indicated a general group of bottles, "Sasuke's best friend, the J&B whiskey bottle." He observed it a while longer, eyes glittering with amusement, before turning to Sasuke and settling his features into a _look. _Sasuke looked back.

Naruto flickered over Sasuke's face for a few seconds before breaking eye contact and glancing to the side, chuckling quietly as if accepting a joke just told at his expense, eyes tensed in either amusement or pain. He sighed to himself and looked back up appraisingly, a tired smile inching onto his mouth. "So I go to back to Tsunade's like a good kid."

Sasuke smirked and fingered the packs of gum displayed on the counter next to them. He turned back. "That's right."

Naruto lifted an arm and scratched at the back of his head, squinting as if he were mulling something over. He dropped it and casually leaned his elbow on the surface of the counter. "And I keep helping my very hungover friend, shame on him, find his ring regardless of what a tool he is."

"I knew you'd catch on."

Naruto kept the same expression for a few thoughtful moments before breaking it with a resigned-looking, slightly disbelieving grin that pulled his features tight with a chuckle; he glanced away, craning his neck in search of the cashier. "Yeah…" he muttered, "at least I know you care." He turned back to Sasuke with the same tight eyes and smile that seemed to be laughing at something that really wasn't funny.

Sasuke just stared, an infinitesimal frown barely visible on his lips. It was covered up. "Don't flatter yourself," he smirked easily, giving the store a bored glance-over (eyelashes sinking slowly then lifting up as he looks away). He propped his back against the counter, crossing arms and ankles, cutting and angular in black. "It's just more convenient for everyone if you get your bum ass to work," he teased.

Naruto laughed out loud and brought his other arm to lean on the counter as well so that he was bent over it, hands clasped loosely. He shifted the weight on his legs, unbending one knee and bending the other like he was stretching again. His shirt hung a little from his torso and he fixed another grin on Sasuke, brighter this time. "Hey, you _know _it's not flattery." Still grinning, he reached out and lightly punched Sasuke on the shoulder, though the action was so deliberate and slow it was more like a playful shove. "It's the goddamn truth, isn't it? You care."

Sasuke glanced dubiously over at Naruto, an eyebrow cocked in question of his sanity. Before he could utter a typical witty reply, however, his eyes were drawn upwards past Naruto's face by the entrance of an employee through a gray door down a ways on the other side of the counter that led to what Sasuke could only assume was a small office and/or storage room in that corner of the mart. It was shut smartly behind a twenty-some, sickly-looking guy who proceeded to slouch over to the two boys, dropping a battered red price gun onto some unseen stool along the way. He wore a blue beanie, dark shaggy tufts of hair sticking out along the sides and front. He had unhealthy bags under his eyes. He stopped before them, looked them over—and coughed; Sasuke winced a little.

Naruto had turned to study the cashier's approach and was now grinning genially at him, hunched forward on his elbows as if just thrilled at his presence. Sasuke shifted so that he was leaning on his side now, and frowned.

After a silence: "Can I help you?" The employee's voice was hoarse and monotone, his gaze more sallow than his skin. He stood a good two feet back from the counter, eyeing the exuberant Naruto with slight wariness.

Naruto simply beamed at him like the words just spoken deserved an honorary moment of silence. He roused himself out of it—a pleasant intake of breath, a turn towards Sasuke and affable raise of the brows, elbows pulling in. "Uh. Yeah, actually…" Sasuke stared back in deliberate silence, lips expectantly thin. He arched a glance in the cashier's direction, nodding pointedly. "My buddy _Sasuke_ here," Naruto continued, catching the hint that Sasuke wasn't going to elaborate; he turned back to the cashier with an amused smile. "See, he's, uh, misplaced a ring of his. It's a silver ring with, um, like a fan design on it?" Naruto vaguely brushed the middle finger of his right hand, as if pointing out the ring's usual placement would jog the cashier's memory. "And, since we happened to pass through here last night—we were wondering if maybe someone had turned it in, or said something about it? Like the guy who works the night shift or something?" Naruto bit his lip hopefully, eyes locked on the sunken-faced employee.

The cashier's expression had not changed in the slightest. He slowly brought a hand up to rub at his arm; up and down lazily. He raised the same hand to his mouth in a fist and coughed into it, a deep, rasping, alarming sound. He dropped it. "No."

Naruto grinned insistently for a few seconds. He shifted forward, a twitchy movement. "Really? Just, nothing at all?" he asked, still smiling though now with a pull at the corner of his mouth like a commiserative grimace.

The cashier lifted his brows slightly and sucked at his cheek as if thinking deeply about his response.

"Nope."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, chuckling a little at the cashier's eloquence. "Well, uh," he glanced at Sasuke, a laugh threatening in his expression. "I guess…I guess that's _that_." He drew out the last word thoughtfully, enunciating the 't'. Then he snorted in amusement and shrugged his lips like saying "okay, then," followed by a quick rap of his knuckles of against the countertop as he straightened up and sighed in a business-like manner. "So, you want to look around just to make sure?" he asked, squinting a bit at Sasuke and surveying the dingy store with speculation like he was reckoning something out the old-fashioned way. (What is he, a cowboy?)

Sasuke just looked at him with a deadpan, pitying gaze, not bothering to close his mouth all the way. He rolled his eyes and pushed off from the counter smoothly, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he commenced making his way towards the center aisle. Naruto grinned at the cashier once and followed.

"Uh, hold on," came the zombie voice from behind them. They glanced back at the cashier, who shrugged viscously. "You can't just be in here. You have to, like, buy something."

Sasuke scowled slightly; Naruto stilled for a moment, staring at the cashier, before blindly reaching out a puppet arm and clutching a random item off the shelf. Everyone stared: it was a tin can of Griffin shoe polish—brown. He smiled and held up his improvised purchase, shaking it a little for the cashier's benefit while playing it cool and holding back a laugh. He awkwardly weighed it in his hand like gauging its worth and turned in time to see Sasuke's lips quiver with suppressed mirth. "Hey, don't worry about it," the cashier was told, the pale, brazen kid standing at the head of the aisle sending him a polished smirk.

Said cashier shrugged again in response and looked to the side, coughing quietly and violently into his mouth.

Naruto raised his brows vaguely at Sasuke and grinned, slapping the tin against the flat of his palm.

"Shoe polish?"

"Yeah." Naruto shrugged, tone innocent; those blue irises of his would be laughing if it were possible.

Sasuke smirked slowly as he nodded in mock pensiveness, playing along. "Hn. Shoe polish. Of course." They stared at each other and Sasuke looked almost unnaturally not-pissed-off.

"You want me to, uh, check the next aisle?" Naruto asked, still grinning like an idiot and tilting his head to indicate which aisle he was talking about

Sasuke exhaled loudly and pulled a hand through his hair, brought once again to the subject at hand. "Yeah," he sighed turning back from the boxes of Babe Ruths his gaze had absently fallen on. "I'll check this one."

Naruto nodded, chewing his cheek and moving away; they split up and started down separate aisles.

Sasuke scanned the floor stoically, making his careful way across the concrete past the dried apricots and made-in-China candleholders. Forgotten bits of litter and nothing and Sasuke could see Naruto's head over the top of the shelves, behind him the carton quarts of Altadena in the backlit refrigerators.

They'd reached the end: "Nothing."

Naruto's observation fell with the slightly obtrusive weight of the obvious. (Of course, nothing). He was peering at Sasuke now, a gaze waiting for the reaction-shot. Sasuke was chewing over his predicament, an imperceptible twitch of his mouth the only hint at the less than pleasant contents of his dish. He sighed and eyed Naruto appraisingly, stock-still like he was calculating something out. "Let's go," he concluded after a couple of seconds, shrugging and squinting towards the bright glare of the exit. There was nothing more for it.

Naruto blew out his cheeks and nodded, looking concerned. He vaguely waved the tin of shoe polish. "Let me just pay for this, I'll be back."

"What, you're actually buying it?" Sasuke snorted, giving Naruto a dubious look.

Naruto flashed a grin over his shoulder, already off to the register in lanky strides. "Well, _yeah_." Sasuke watched him approach the bored cashier; he could practically see the cocky, cheerful smile that would be gracing his features simply by the way he was standing. Leaning in slightly, his white shirt painting him trim around the edges. Looking for his wallet in the tight pockets of his LA skinny jeans, one heel slightly lifting off the ground as he dug for it. Sasuke had always wondered what Mars Bars tasted like. There were some right in front of him.

Naruto came back soon with his shoe polish swinging in a plastic bag from the tips of his fingers, smiling and not at all self-conscious as Sasuke stared him down. "Gaara's then? I gave the guy your number too, by the way. You're cool with that, right?"

Sasuke glanced over Naruto's shoulder at the cashier, who was milling around doing cashier-like activities and racking up intermittent coughs. "It's a little late to ask, moron. But yes, it's fine." This was becoming an uncomfortable trend. "So, how's it going being my personal PR guy? I should give you a raise."

Naruto leveled him with a sarcastic grin of appreciation. "Oh, ha ha. Was that a joke? Sasuke made a joke? How tickling." He grinned at Sasuke's smirk and walked past him towards the exit, at which time his purchases conveniently decided to ignore the existence of gravity and award Sasuke a decent thwack in the stomach. "Oops. My hand slipped," Naruto said without bothering to hide his laughter.

Sasuke turned and followed, narrowing his eyes. "Oh, the abuse. The pain," he droned tonelessly. Moments later found Naruto rubbing the portion of his cranium where Sasuke had delivered just deserts.

"You don't have to shove so hard, bastard!"

"I'm fully aware of that."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him and turned his squinting glare out towards the road. The heat beat harshly and suddenly off the sidewalk as they stepped into the sun. It stifled the street. Naruto kept his eyes low, avoiding the caustic brilliance of the sky and scuffing the sidewalk absently with his heel as he waited for Sasuke to round the hood. He tilted his head to the side and squinted thoughtfully down the street, thin and slouching and alone on the sidewalk now.

Sasuke paused when the locks clicked open and Naruto hadn't moved to get in. "Oi."

Naruto turned and looked up at him, brought out of his ruminations.

"Get in the car, moron."

A grin and the passenger door opens. "You're such an asshole."

…_[The previous night]…_

_In the car, a different car this time, Naruto was squeezed against his side. And the street lights still flashed coldly by in the late night outside the window but Naruto was there. So Sasuke was squeezed back and thank god for car-stuffing and ride-mooching because Naruto was glued to him in the scarce space. _

_Convenience store. _

"_Come on," Naruto laughed and leaned across him and busted open the door. They'd already parked, when did that happen? Gaara was getting out in front of them. His car._

_Sasuke almost fell out and the cold night air felt good but Naruto pulling his arm like that, was it normal to feel so warm, felt even better. Naruto was drunk. _

"_Come on." He was laughing. _

_Half a sign working in the electric lit night, striped orange and green behind white block letters. –OB'S MART. They stumbled in and Gaara was strolling ahead to the glowing refrigerators and Naruto was close to his side. Not unsticking any time soon. This was right. _

"_Beer? Miller?" Naruto was asking. Nonsense questions. _

_Gaara's flat eyes flickered over. Then back and reflecting the glowing lights of the fridges. "I'm thinking something stronger," he droned. Walk away without a word. Naruto's hand was on Sasuke's back. _

_A chuckle. "I like how you think." Naruto pushed forward. Turned and laughed into Sasuke's ear. "I like how he thinks."_

_Sasuke' eyes were half-lidded he noticed so he opened them and stumbled. Look at Naruto. He knew he was breathing alcohol. Light a match in front of my face, someone, anyone. "Yeah." _

"_Yeah?" Naruto laughed. The register. Lines and lines of bottles. Auburn and toxic clear, the potential of glass. "Hey, Sasuke. You sure though?" He leans in, voice hot. "I mean," he laughs low, "You just like threw up." Happy Naruto. "Whatever floats your boat." _

_The cashier was blond too. Long hair in a ponytail. "Gaara," he said. He knew his name. And that was a smirk._

"_Three Smirnoffs. Two J&B's." Gaara was blank. His face and spine were made of steel. "Deidara." The name, thrown out like a joke and an afterthought. Who the hell is Deidara?_

_Blond cashier laughs. "You've got ID, yeah? We card, you know. Under twenty-one we card." _

_Gaara said nothing. Black-rimmed eyes, red hair falling around that face like a warning. Yeah, he's got fucking hair like everyone else. Dare you to think it means anything. "No."_

"_No?" _

_Gaara let a smirk escape and blond cashier laughs deep. Naruto was leaning heavy on Sasuke's shoulder, arms flung over him, watching the tennis. Naruto, like summer musk and bad parties and getting a kick out of Gaara. _

"_Oh ho ho. I'm just kidding, yeah?" Cashier laughs easy. Of course, tension gone. Never there! That's how to manipulate. "I'm fucking kidding, Gaara. You know that, yeah?" Voice teasing. _

_Gaara says nothing. His arms are crossed._

_Cashier turns and grabs bottles, sticks them in brown bags. The exchange of goods and bills. _

"_Hey you okay with that? Want to split?" Naruto asks Gaara, earnest. Eyeliner and kanji tattoo turn stoically. _

"_No." _

_Naruto grins. Leaning on Sasuke; good old buddies in the liquor store! "Thanks, man." And Gaara doesn't look away for a bit and Sasuke stares drunkenly at the blond cashier who smirks at him and Naruto pushes him forward. _

"_What?" Naruto is a little drunk too and trips as he pushes forward past Gaara. "What."_

_Gaara's pale green eyes. Mint and tide pools. "Nothing." And that's the closest thing to a smile Sasuke's ever seen on the marble face. _

_Naruto hugs Sasuke's neck tight and moves forward to the exit, a paper bag in his hand, bottles clinking heavy. "Fuck you!" and Sasuke knows he says it with a half laugh and Gaara moves also he's right behind them. Another bag in his hand. Sasuke wonders if he can become an overnight alcoholic. _

_Open exit ahead, wide double doors in the nothing-to-do night. Cold again, sidewalk. Buzz buzzing in your head and breath and across the street buildings of neglect. Not really highschool kids anymore, climbing drunk into curb-side cars with chicks inside. Naruto not letting go, arm around him as they squeeze in. _

_And Sasuke realizes he's squeezing back. _

_Sometime later, he twists his ring around finger absently. Thinks: important to me. Also thinks: I live._

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Reviews are appreciated.

A note from the author that you don't really need to read but probably should:I hope that my rather extensive dealing with the subject of getting shitfaced in this fic hasn't wrongly inspired anyone who shouldn't be experimenting to go and do so. It's a bit late, I know, to disclaim but some shit happened a while ago and I guess I learned that in real life the situation presented in the story is SERIOUS, SCARY, AND SO NOT WORTH IT. If you live in the US, a little early morning trip via ambulance to the emergency room for alcohol poisoning amounts to about 1200 dollars, not to mention disclipinary probation from your respective academic institution. I know this because, well, that's what happened to me. Fun. -_-


	9. Chapter 8

here's a semi long one

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C H A P T E R E I G H T**

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Gaara lived in the suburbs. It was kind of nice actually, his house. Twenty minutes out of downtown to the East, and the car's rolling through cutesy roads of iron fences, ivy hedges, and two-story family homes. Gaara lived with his two older siblings, one of whom was screwing Shikamaru. His parents were dead.

Sasuke pulled smoothly into the open, brick-laid driveway, his sleek black car purring powerfully over the slight incline from the street. He slowed to a stop behind a blood red Audi, throwing the gears into park and turning the keys in the ignition, allowing for the bird-chirping quiet of the wealthy neighborhood. Beside him Naruto inhaled suddenly, the loud stillness having awoken him from his thoughts. Sasuke glanced at him briefly and, without further ado, opened his door and stepped out. Naruto did the same.

"Hey, so it's probably here, right?" Naruto's head announced over the roof of the car, ever the optimist. He slammed the passenger door shut and walked around to meet Sasuke, who was already heading towards the brick path that led to the front porch. The heat lurked still, but the leafy green oaks and elms that usually tower in abundance over the calm roads of upper-middle class America made for shade and respite from the striking sun. The grandfather foliage sucked away the harshness—the perks of location.

"It fucking better be," Sasuke muttered darkly, scanning the well-kept yard. Perfect greens and shrubbery that just screamed professional landscaping of muted, refined tastes and the complete lack of human presence except for the twice-a-week gardeners. A car rolled past, trees mirrored in dimmed hues on the reflective glass as it zoomed down the street. Sasuke watched neutrally as it approached the corner, slowed, and turned left. Next to them the walls of the house rose grandly, authentic brick and then sandy stucco, French windows framed in stained wood. It wasn't a mansion by any means but it had a stately feel to it. It was older, bigger, and had more history than most houses in the general area.

Naruto stretched a languid arm up and rubbed his neck, eyes passing momentarily over Sasuke as he regarded the setting with a pensive gaze. "Told you we should have brought Gaara's clothes," he said, dropping his arm with a lazy sigh.

They stepped lightly up the stone steps of the porch, which was really more of an elegant, columned portico. No rocking chairs and pet Labradors here. The shade was welcome and almost cool, and tendrils of climbing ivy worked their way up the moist, dark corners. Naruto reached the green-painted door first and rung the doorbell. It chimed faintly behind the curtained windows. Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and looked off to the side at the row of pruned bushes that ran along the front of the house: pristine, the bark and soil in immaculate scatter.

He turned back and Naruto was looking at him, bored and a little thoughtful and probably impatient for the door to open. Neither said anything; there wasn't much to be said. Naruto looked away with a roll of the shoulder as if he'd only glanced at Sasuke because he was part of the scenery and pushed the doorbell again, twice this time and more insistently.

After a moment, it opened. A narrow crack just big enough for the person on the other side to peer out through the gap, then more widely onto a pale, stony face sporting a deadened gaze and excessive amounts of eyeliner. Sasuke never could understand how Naruto had become such close friends with Gaara; they were polar opposites. Gaara was one of those hardcore punk kids, so Goth he probably shat bats and studded belts. But then again, Sasuke reasoned, if Naruto's requisites for making friends included a quorum of things in common he'd have none at all.

In any case, Sasuke was currently noting how jarring Gaara's appearance was in juxtaposition to the white lace of the window curtains and the reserved dignity of the architecture imbibed in time and inheritance-right. He was wearing tight black pants and a loose tank with a messy band graphic splattered over the worn front. Leather bracelets and combat boots, and his hair as flaming red as ever. Only Gaara could pull off that look without being ridiculously cliché.

He faced them blankly, eyes running from the grinning Naruto to Sasuke slightly behind him, slouching morosely as usual. He'd probably have the same reaction to opening the door and finding the Queen of England in full birthday suit regalia.

"Hello," Naruto said affably. Sasuke shifted his weight to the other leg and Gaara leaned slightly on the door jamb. A small gap of dimly lit interior—a banister, a wall—could be seen behind him. Naruto rocked back on his heels a bit and smiled. "Hey…you going to let us stand here all day? Let us in, man." It was said amicably.

Gaara regarded him in silence for a few seconds, then transferred his gaze to Sasuke with equal detachment before glancing around warily (is he checking for snipers?) and stepping back. The door swung open on hardwood floors in wordless invitation. Naruto entered first, lightly socking Gaara on the shoulder by way of greeting and moved past him to stand semi-awkwardly in the center of the entrance hallway, running his eyes over the cream crown moldings and turning a bit to face the door again with a grin. It tensed visibly.

Gaara, one arm leaning casually on the open door, had pinned Sasuke with his stare, who in turn was strolling calmly past him and countering the gaze in the perfect semblance of indifference. Not that Gaara was actually expressing emotion; his usual blankness just seemed slightly more malevolent than usual as he followed Sasuke with his eyes. An awkward silence.

"Uchiha," Gaara muttered in careful acknowledgement, eyes flickering out at the sunny street and then back, his hand curled loosely.

"Gaara," Sasuke nodded, allowing his gaze to fix defiantly and somewhat questioningly on Gaara's face as he went through the doorway, walked right past him, moved on. Eye contact was broken in dismissal and the moment passed, if it had existed at all. Sasuke came to a stop near Naruto, who looked poised to bust out his as of yet unknown refereeing skills. The door shut with a soft click and Gaara turned to face them both.

The house was cool and dark, but comfortably so. Most of the curtains were drawn and a lazy afternoon quiet lingered in the glimpsed corners of adjacent rooms and hallways. There was a staircase running up the left side of the entrance hall, a nondescript landing visible on the second floor. Blank wood furniture. The entrance hallway narrowed where the staircase began and ran all the way to the back of the house; angular strips of sun played warmly across the hardwood floors and smooth walls from where they managed to melt in through the beveled glass door leading to the backyard. There must have been more trees there because spidery shadows of branches and leaves bobbed softly in the warmth. Dust drifted dream-like down glowing sunlit prisms of air. Gaara was watching Naruto expectantly.

The boy grinned at him in amusement. "How's your hangover?"

Gaara's eyes ran briefly down Naruto's frame, not in a sexual way but as if he were inspecting a specimen. They jumped to Sasuke and leveled him with another unsettling and penetrating stare, probably unaware that said boy was struggling not to reveal his confusion (What the hell's he been staring at?). "I don't get hangovers," Gaara finally droned like he was only bothering to apply a very small part of his brain to making actual conversation.

"Of course you don't," Naruto joked, but it was forced and Sasuke wasn't sure but was that panic suddenly glinting in his eyes? "Anyways," he continued with slight emphasis and an intense stare at Gaara's face as if trying to make him focus back on what he was saying. Gaara reluctantly let his gaze swivel back to Naruto's strangely pained expression. "I'll just get to the point, 'kay? The thing is Sasuke here has lost his ring—you know the ring I'm talking about, right? And he can't actually remember anything about it, or about last night at all for that matter. Like, _nothing_. As in, last night is just one big blank for him. Isn't that right, Sasuke?" Naruto turned to Sasuke with a nervous half-smile of encouragement, ignoring the peeved and vaguely frustrated scowl that was coursing across the pale face.

"I guess you could say that," Sasuke muttered after a few seconds of expectant silence during which he realized that Naruto would eventually need someone to explain to him the purpose of rhetorical questions. (And what's he running his mouth off for?)

Naruto turned back to Gaara almost eagerly. "Yep. You heard him. Absolutely nothing." A fidgety smile and a nod, gaze locked on Gaara. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto and gave a neurotic little shake of the head as if in disbelief at his strange behavior. (What the fuck?)

If Sasuke didn't know better, he'd say Gaara actually looked interested in whatever nonsense Naruto had decided to spew out this time. Again, not that his features had actually moved to express emotion. "I see." He was peering steadfastly at Naruto now, and Sasuke had the distinct feeling that there was a private, wordless conversation taking place. Of which he was not a member. Gaara had come to some sort of conclusion, apparently, and stepped away from his stance by the door. "And?" was his verbose, monotone follow-up.

"And…uh," Naruto laughed a little at the fact that he was being asked for further explanation as to their presence and glanced around with wave of his hand in the general direction of the rest of the house. "And so we just wanted to take a look around to see if it's here. It probably is, seeing as we've already looked in all the other places we went to last night. So, uh, yeah. Shouldn't take too long. I think."

Gaara regarded him in stoic silence as if waiting for him to say more; eventually he broke the stillness and moved past them without a word towards the open, wide doorway into the living room on the left.

"Uh, I guess we'll start in the living room," Naruto supplied, following him with his gaze and then uprooting his feet to allow the rest of his body to the do the same. Sasuke trailed after them by a few feet, wondering if he'd ever regretted anything more than he did right now. Hours wasted looking for the damn heirloom, not to mention he'd felt like complete shit on and off for the entire day. And he wasn't stupid: he knew it was unlikely that getting into a bar fight was the only embarrassing drunken activity he'd partaken in the previous night. But he didn't really want the uncomfortable details, so he didn't ask and pretended not to care when people shared looks around him. If Naruto didn't want to explain what he was hiding, Sasuke wasn't going to demand an answer.

Unfortunately for him, however, no one had as of yet cleaned up Gaara's living room. It would have been a nice textbook example of tasteful interior decoration what with the brown leather corner couch closing in an area in front of the large flat screen TV and the antique brick fireplace that jutted out in its preserved state from walls that had obviously been repainted over the years. It was open and large and the undrawn curtains of the bay window allowed in a flood of white light that gleamed across the polished wood of the floor and exuded the illusion that the weather outside was actually tolerable. Again, it _would_ all have resounded quite pleasantly with Sasuke if not for the fact that those infamous red plastic cups that abound in highschool and college parties were littered all over the large, expensive-looking center rug and upon the glass and wood coffee table, along with multiple half-eaten bags of chips—crumbs trailing from their greasy mouths, a forgotten sweater or two, an melamine bowl with a couple of pretzels sitting in the bottom, an empty bottle of vodka, and next to the doorway on the other end of the room, a tipped over chair. It was the picture taped under the dictionary definition of 'disarray.'

Naruto was surveying the disaster site with a grimace. "Man, no one cleaned up? Do you want, like, help or something?" He also seemed slightly struck by the evidence of the previous night's activities. Sasuke figured that if he couldn't even remember what had happened, Naruto's level of intoxication should have been respect-worthy to say the least. But he'd always been one to bounce back quickly.

Gaara was unshaken by the messy aftermath to the graduation party. "The cleaners will take care of it tomorrow," was all he offered, lurking thinly beside the mammoth wooden hutch that stood against the wall and eyeing the domestic version of ground zero as if he would rather not approach it.

Naruto shrugged easily. "Alright, uh…" he stepped closer to the mess and kicked aside a cup lying on its side a foot or two away from the coffee table. A trickle of brown liquor dripped from the rim and soaked slowly into the gray-blue carpet. "We'll get started then."

Sasuke followed suit and walked around the couch to drop to a crouch and check under the coffee table, under the couch itself, the sweaters, between the cushions.

"Hey look!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly after a few minutes of quiet searching. Sasuke snapped his head up from his awkward position on the other end of the sitting area. Naruto laughed sheepishly. "It's a, um….it's a quarter…"

Sasuke growled and lifted up the next cushion a little more harshly than was necessary.

Naruto recovered from the murderous glare quickly. "Gaara, dude, come help will you?" He peeked over the back of the couch at the thin boy who had stationed himself against the wall with crossed arms and the same monotonous expression as always.

"No."

Naruto snorted. "Ew. Your charm will attract millions one day, you know that?" Gaara didn't respond and Naruto stood up with a quiet groan to stretch his knees, his arms lifting a little and his shirt hugging his lean stomach as he yawned. "I'm fucking beat," he muttered, dropping them. He stepped gingerly around a cluster of cups on the floor and leaned over to check under a bag of chips left on the couch. "So, uh, your brother and sis are at work?" he asked, apparently to fulfill a need for small talk that neither Sasuke nor Gaara would ever understand.

"Yes."

Naruto looked up with a grin. "Hey so Temari and Shikamaru are pretty much a thing now, aren't they? Makes you wonder what they were doing all by their lonesome in Temari's room last night." That one streaking impishly across his face now was called a Cheshire cat grin.

Gaara shrugged and looked away. The obsessive compulsive part of Sasuke made him push the vodka bottle perched precariously on the edge of the table farther in. A cup fell over.

Naruto glanced over absently and nudged aside a DVD case left on the floor between the table and the couch with his foot. "So you excited for tonight? I mean, it's freaking grad-u-a-tion…" He drew out the syllables like that would convey the importance of the word.

Gaara, who'd had his ankles crossed as he leaned against the wall pushed off for a moment to cross them the other way, keeping his eyes on Naruto the whole time. "No." Sasuke could tell he was annoyed. He was starting to adopt the opinion, albeit grudgingly, that the range of emotions Gaara was able to express without twitching a single facial muscle or altering the tone of his voice was pretty amazing, and if there was a course for this he didn't know about, he wanted in.

Naruto shot Gaara a lop-sided grimace. "You would say that. You wouldn't be excited if someone handed you a million dollars." Gaara just stared at him, and apparently Naruto took his lack of a response as an invitation to continue. "Anyways, I think Kiba said something about going out again tonight," he announced, shoving his hands in his jeans and finally giving Gaara all of his attention—it seemed he'd given up on the living room. "You know, post-graduation celebration and all. You game?"

Gaara glanced down at his shoes and shifted a bit. "Yeah," he replied after a moment, moving his dead gaze back to Naruto. "I'm game."

"Cool." Naruto smiled genuinely. Gaara's actions usually belied his words, and it was obvious that Naruto knew that their friendship was more important to him than he tended to let on. "Oh!" he exclaimed after a few seconds during which no one offered anything to the rather one-sided conversation, "I almost forgot but, uh, me and Sasuke still have your clothes. We forgot to bring them. Or more like, I almost forgot and Mr. Hangover Man over here was in too much of a hurry to let me go back and get them." He ignored Sasuke's scowl and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "So…we'll bring them tonight, yeah?"

Gaara just shrugged and pushed off from the wall again, making his way to the doorway. "I'm going to my room," he said without looking back at them. "There is soda in the refrigerator." He turned left and disappeared into the entrance hall.

Naruto gawked at the sudden exit for a moment before turning to Sasuke with a grin. "Gaara, man…is he antisocial or what? He might actually be worse than you. I think that last sentence was the most words he's said at once in, like, a week."

Sasuke got up off his knees, his hand sinking slightly into the cushion as he put his weight on it and snorted. "It's probably just you, moron. You talk too fucking much."

Naruto clutched his heart dramatically and pulled a face. "I take offense to that. I really do." He smiled cheekily when Sasuke rolled his eyes in bored acknowledgement of the weak joke and stuffed his hands in his pockets. But his shoulders had tensed almost imperceptibly at Gaara's departure. He let his hand drop slowly from his chest and shifted nervously, glancing to the side. He looked back. "What about you? Are you coming tonight?"

Sasuke arched a brow at the question. "No," he replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, why the hell not?" Naruto demanded, looking disappointed.

"Itachi," Sasuke offered simply. He glanced off to Naruto's right with a subconscious frown marring his lips.

"Oh yeah…" Naruto mumbled, scratching behind his ear and scanning the floor musingly. "Bet you guys want some mushy quality time together, huh?" He looked back up with a grin, attempting as usual to smooth over the rough topic with brute humor.

Sasuke scoffed and started making his way around the coffee table so that he could give the shelving under the TV a brief look-over. "_No_…Just shut up, will you?"

He couldn't help but pause when Naruto, for once, actually refrained from bestowing his melodious voice on Sasuke's ears. Looking over his shoulder, he let his eyes run curiously across Naruto's features for a moment. He was biting his lip, brows worried. He turned his eyes towards Sasuke and regarded him with a strange expression. Sasuke became very aware of the fact that they were the only two in the room; he found himself breathing in slowly and staring right back. Naruto eyes were flickering between Sasuke's, and his lips parted slightly like he was about to say something. Suddenly, he looked away, digging into his pocket and taking out his phone. It was vibrating. He flipped it open and smiled minutely, eyes crinkling down at the luminescent screen as he quickly typed something out with his thumbs. "Ino wants to know about the plans for tonight…" he informed Sasuke absently without looking up, still typing. After a moment he snapped the phone shut and turned back to Sasuke, then quickly brought it up again to look at it as if remembering something. "It's, uh, 2:48 p.m.," he said. He gave Sasuke a thoughtful stare and chewed his lip. "We're supposed to be at the school by 6:30. And it's going to take like twenty minutes to get back. Plus we have to, like, dress and whatnot. Which gives us, I don't know, three whole hours to check Gaara's house? Less than that?" He looked around at the living room with a bit lip and rubbed one restless hand up and down his arm like he was cold, looking very thin all of a sudden. He inhaled loudly and looked back at Sasuke, who immediately glanced away and frowned at the bay window. "You want to go check the kitchen?" Naruto asked. "I know you were in there at least once last night."

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, avoiding those goddamn blue eyes. He had the sensation that Naruto was treating him like a fragile item just poised and ready to crack, and it was irritating him immensely. Maybe it was because he wasn't accustomed to receiving so much help from anyone, let alone the idiot; it was like shock therapy to his pride.

Naruto had shrugged and turned towards the doorway they had come through, letting his eyes scan the corners of the spacious living room one last time.

"What's through that door?" Sasuke asked Naruto's back, directing his gaze towards the other end of the room even though Naruto wasn't looking at him.

"Uh," Naruto slowed down some and glanced at the door, but didn't stop walking. "Like a den, entertainment room type thing. Leads out to this deck in the backyard. You didn't go in there, though. Come on." He looked at Sasuke over his shoulder. "I want a soda." He turned and crossed into the entrance hall.

Sasuke, a small frown on his lips, followed reluctantly. "How do you know I didn't go in there? According to you, we were here for at least a couple of hours." He made his way around the polished banister of the staircase and down the hallway, the walls painted a warm rose, abstract prints in browns and tans framed on the wall above a long wooden console table with wrought iron legs. Sasuke squinted when a strip of sunlight from the backdoor warmed his face. Naruto paused at a door about halfway down and looked back at Sasuke with a scoff.

"Because I was with you the entire time, Sasuke. Someone had to make sure you didn't go and drown in a freaking pool or something, seeing as you were so plastered. Hint, cough, hint." He pushed the door open with his shoulder, disgruntled, and walked through. Sasuke caught it with his hand as it swung back and edged into the kitchen. It was a relatively large room, tiled in toasted neutral browns and mortared together with the harmony of the Lowe's Home Improvement catalogue. It had obviously been recently remodeled, and whoever had chosen the décor seemed to have felt obliged to honor the stereotypical Southwestern color scheme. Little potted cacti lined the small window above the sink that overlooked the backyard. In the middle of the kitchen there was an island, black marble countertop, over which hung a cozy-looking pot rack. Sasuke had a strong hunch that this was solely for decorative purposes and an attempt at homeyness, given the inhabitants of the house.

The island, and the rest of the counters for that matter, were littered with the very same red plastic cups that adorned the living room in various states of upheaval, as well as empty liquor bottles that left a trail of their early morning binging. Numerous half-empty beer bottles and crushed cans of Budweiser kept them company like foot soldiers to the 80 proof officers of teenage mischief. The sink was loaded with dirty cups and plates covered in what must have once been pizza.

Naruto stood in the middle of the kitchen, a few feet in front of Sasuke, one hand raised to his nape in a mild gesture of astonishment as he surveyed the scene. Sasuke skunked over to stand beside him, slouched into his pockets and still scowling over Naruto's comment.

"Holy shit…" Naruto half-heartedly prodded a chip bag sitting on the edge of the island, as if afraid to rouse the monster of a mess that had apparently settled down in the kitchen and threatened to swallow them whole. He flicked the flashy plastic in defiance. "How the fuck are we supposed to look through all this crap?"

Sasuke arched his brows in a listless attempt at distress. He was only half listening to Naruto's somewhat indignant questions; instead, he was trying hard to dig up any memories he might have had of being in this particular room, and what he might have done during that time span. Nothing. It was like the lingering sensations of a dream he would never be able to remember, a vagueness of hue and intent and mostly darkness that might someday return in baffling, gripping force as déjà vu only to be dismissed once again.

He eventually approached the island and propped both hands on the counter edge, standing a good two feet back from it and leaning forward casually as he ran his eyes over the miniature mountain of trash. His shoulder blades hunched felinely through the black fabric of his shirt. A few stray tresses of dark hair fell forward like a curtain. He budged a bowl of rank dip perched near the edge of the table with a long index finger in order to see around it, lazy and applied at the same time as he checked the island for his ring.

Naruto had moved away with a loud sigh and slightly wide eyes in the direction of the matte steel refrigerator. Yanking the handle he bent into the cool gusting brightness, one hand still grasping the door, and rifled around the leftover Chinese take-out, a browning head of lettuce, and an unopened gallon of milk for the box of Coke cans. He paused and narrowed his eyes, bending slightly lower; Sasuke was a Pepsi kind of guy, though.

The door was shut with a magnetic whoosh and Sasuke heard the metallic pop and fizz of cans being opened behind him. He supposed he'd have to eventually clear out the countertop if he wanted to be sure his ring wasn't hidden amongst the party ruins.

Naruto appeared beside him suddenly, his body almost brushing Sasuke's but not quite, and set down a Pepsi on the counter. "A Pepsi for you." He held his own can in the other hand and took a swig, eyes lingering on Sasuke's face as he tipped his head back. The rim left his lips and he swallowed. "And a Coke for me."Apparently, he was in no rush to decrease their proximity. Sasuke shifted a little, still propped up against the counter by the arms, and inhaled slowly as he warily ran his eyes across Naruto's features. Naruto stared back for a moment, searching almost, and then glanced to the left and took another sip of his coke. "I think I should find a trash bag," he murmured, more thinking out loud than expecting a response.

Sasuke swallowed quietly and looked down at his Pepsi, trying not dwell on the fact that at this distance he could practically feel Naruto's warmth. He straightened up nonchalantly and took a drink from his can, looking thoughtfully off at the cherry wood wall cabinets across the kitchen. Next to him Naruto shuffled a bit so that he was leaning back against the counter, practically fully supported by it, a strange weariness evident in the lowering of his eyelids and the languorous tilt of his shoulders. He took another swig of his Coke and swung his gaze slowly upwards to peer at the ceiling lights. They were less than half a foot away from each and neither had made to move.

After a moment, Naruto broke the rare peace: "Hey Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced at him once out of the corner of his eyes and looked away again. The boy had his neck tilted back lethargically and was fixing the ceiling an oddly serious look. "What?"

"Mind if I spend the night at your place today?"

Sasuke furrowed his brows slightly and took another sip of soda. "Don't you have, like, big plans to go out, moron?" He turned and faced Naruto with a vaguely confused frown, the hand that didn't have a can in it shoved deep into his jeans pocket.

Naruto twisted his neck to look at Sasuke, walls up behind his eyes, and shrugged. "Maybe I don't really feel like going anymore," he offered, looking away as he raised the can to his lips again. Sasuke breathed out softly, eyes trained intensely on Naruto's profile.

"You won't have a place to sleep," he stated as a deterrent, but it sounded more like a disclaimer.

Naruto smiled at their shoes. "Sure I will. I'll sleep on the couch. Or on the floor in your room. Don't tell me it's a full house at the Uchiha residence tonight?" He looked up at Sasuke's scowling face with an amused glint in his eye.

Sasuke wondered if, were someone to walk in at the moment, they would find it strange that his and Naruto's faces were only a foot apart. His scowl deepened. "What I meant to say, dumbass, was that Itachi will be there."

A half-smile tugged at the corner of Naruto's mouth, and his eyes seemed clearer than the sky at the moment. "I know, Sasuke."

Sasuke's brows furrowed again, a twitchy little reaction. "Right...well that makes complete sense, moron…"

Naruto chewed his cheek in frustration, glancing to the right past Sasuke's head. He looked back, his determination becoming more obvious in the set of his jaw. "I want to be there."

"Who said I wanted you there?"

"No one, but I don't give a shit."

"Well I don't want you there."

"Like I said."

Sasuke sighed and gritted his teeth, glaring to the side. His gaze swiveled back angrily. "Why? Just go out or something. It's graduation."

Naruto stared back unflinchingly. A silence fell tensely around them, Sasuke fuming and Naruto frowning and bothered. "If I were you," he ventured after a moment, hesitant, his eyes flickering briefly on Sasuke and then gazing trenchantly at the countertop.

"You're not me, idiot," Sasuke muttered.

"If I were you," Naruto continued, ignoring his caustic friend, "I'd want someone there with me." He looked up at Sasuke's strange expression, an ambivalent mixture between irritation and surprise. "I wouldn't want to face something like that by myself. So I don't want you to either. In other words," he added with a scholarly nod, "I don't give a fuck whether you want me there or not. I'm spending the night at your place. Happy graduation."

Sasuke opened his mouth, clicked it shut, and settled for just biting his lip in disgruntlement and slowly dropping back against the island in a pose mimicking Naruto's. Slouching with slim legs stiffly crossed, a can in his hand and staring off at some random corner (cue King of the Hill type dialogue), he was struggling to form a reaction to Naruto's sudden change of plans. The idiot was lying when he said he didn't want to go out with his friends, that was obvious. So he was giving up his highschool graduation night just to…just to…

Sasuke scowled at the tiles. Well, he wasn't going to deny that he had been maybe, sort of dreading his little family reunion. Itachi was his only real tie to his past. His mere existence was a memento of something Sasuke would prefer not to ever think about again, but was so intrinsically rooted in the essence of who he was that Sasuke had always assumed that whatever concerned Itachi and himself must necessarily stay between Itachi and himself. Opening up would be…He'd never even considered it. He didn't think…

But then again.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who was still standing right beside him and was currently downing the rest of his Coke. He must've noticed the stare because he gave Sasuke a sidelong glare over the red can, lips frowning on the rim as his throat bobbed smoothly and his head tilted back to get the last gulp. The can left his mouth and he swallowed with a grimace, lowering his chin again. "What?" he growled in a strained watery voice and immediately entered a coughing fit, bending and turning his face to the side.

Sasuke smirked and propped an elbow on the counter, relaxing into an easy lean as he observed the red, choking mess in front of him called Naruto. "Moron," he said in his smooth, deep timbre of a voice, "you need to swallow drinks, not inhale them." Naruto weakly pushed in his direction and missed, covering his mouth and screwing his eyes shut as he coughed again and tried to catch his breath. Sasuke's smirk grew.

Yes, but then again.

This was Naruto…and Naruto was okay.

"You!" Cough. "You fucking bastard!" Cough, cough. Naruto's face was an unhealthy shade of red and tears glinted at the corners of his eyes as he struggled to reassemble himself. "I could be choking to death, you asshole! What the hell are you smirking at?!" He stuck an arm on the counter for support and gave one last rousing cough, a fist over his mouth, eyes beady and glistening.

"Hn."

Naruto snorted and wiped his eyes, finally starting to return from his dramatic dally with asphyxiation. "Hn my ass," he muttered sullenly, grabbing the evil and dangerous soda can from its innocent perch on the counter and looking around vaguely, swallowing loudly and squinting through his teary eyes. "_Anyways_. Since I haven't _died_ yet, we need to start throwing out all these beer cans or something, or we'll never find anything." He glared at Sasuke as if to say 'the things I do for you!' and walked away from the island towards the wall counter. He crouched down and opened the door to the cabinet under the sink, digging in the darkness for who knows what.

"You can have the couch," Sasuke said at Naruto's back as it hunched into the cabinet, muscles shifting slightly through his jeans, legs taut in the cramped position. Naruto froze for a brief second at the words before straightening up, a folded trash bag in his hand. He turned and awarded Sasuke with a guarded flicker of a gaze and a tentative, surprised smile.

"Of course I can," he replied, sounding cockier and more obnoxious than his eyes would suggest. He let the bag fall out like an accordion and shook it roughly so that it filled with air, filmy opaque white and clinging around his legs.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and "hn'd" at that assertion, as was expected, but he couldn't help feeling like his brain was taking a deep, shuddering breath. So Itachi was coming. But, suddenly, it didn't seem all that dramatically climatic anymore. He felt an unannounced relaxation in places he hadn't realized were tense.

Naruto approached the counter, grabbed a can or two, and dropped them ceremoniously into the waiting trash bag. Sasuke eyed him with a strange expression, the faintest hint of a smile curving his lips, before turning away and tilting his head to finish his Pepsi in three large gulps. He crushed the can in his hand and leaned over to toss it into the bag. Naruto looked up at him quickly and frowned.

"You can help, you know."

Sasuke smirked and looked aside to yawn, his back arching tiredly and his hand fisting in front of his mouth. With a satisfied sigh, he returned Naruto's irritated glare with mock severity and a teasing lift at the corner of his lips and commenced pushing bottles and cups into a cluster at the edge of the island so that Naruto could more easily shovel them into the bag, checking inside the heavier ones in case his ring had somehow made its way into someone's drink. The sounds of heavy industrial grunge music began to drift faintly down from the ceiling, probably from Gaara's room, but it only served to accentuate the easy afternoon quiet that had curled around the house and snuck in through the window panes with the bleached light of sunny days. They made steady progress in the kitchen, despite the fact that Sasuke was starting to feel like he should open a cleaning service or something; the island was cleared in a minute or two, barring the bowl of dip, a wooden lazy susan, and some dirty dishware, leaving the trash bag in Naruto's hands already half full and straining against the weight.

"Not here," Naruto groaned and lugged the bag over to the wall counter, practically using his arm as a tractor as he began to scoop the cans off the counter and into the trash. Hollow clinks of glass and aluminum broke the stillness, along with the rustling of the plastic and Naruto's intermittent mutters. Sasuke followed and pushed aside the Black and Decker coffee maker and a dusty jar of decorative sott'olio that were set against the wall underneath the row of ceiling cabinets, increasingly harsh and impatient in his actions as his ring refused to appear. He brusquely tossed aside a clump of dirty napkins followed by a paper plate or two and dug around roughly within a messy pile of empty grocery bags. He cursed under his breath. Next to him, Naruto glanced up: "Dude, calm down." Sasuke snapped his glare at him and realized he was clenching his jaw. He slowly stood upright and let his eyes drop to linger on Naruto's shoulder, breathing in. Exhaling carefully.

Okay. Right.

So his ring had to be somewhere, correct? Although he was starting to suspect otherwise, logic clearly stated that it couldn't have just been swallowed up by the ethers of the universe. The law of conservation of matter, and whatnot. He hadn't spent all that time in advanced placement physics with Kakashi for nothing, damn it.

He watched with a frown as Naruto shook his head at the increasingly visible countertop with a half-frown. "You're, like, freaking out on me," the boy muttered, gingerly picking up an empty bottle of whiskey with his thumb and middle finger and sloshing it around analytically. There were maybe two mouthfuls left. They would be stale. Naruto slipped a brief mischievous glance at Sasuke and tipped his head back, swallowing the remains of the liquor with a blind stare at the cabinets, a tiny grimace itching at his mouth as he drew the now drained bottle from his lips. "I think you get stressed out _way _too easily." The bottle was deposited carefully with the rest of the rubbish. Sasuke brought a hand up and rubbed his lightly pounding temple.

"If it's not here, then where the fuck would it be?" he demanded stiffly, glaring out the window at the visible bit of serene ultra blue that belonged to the swimming pool.

Naruto shrugged. "Chill," came the mild suggestion, though even he was beginning to allow a sneaking drip of worry into his tone. "I think we should, um," he bit his lip and started on the other side of the sink, working much more quickly than he had been at the beginning as if the probability of finding the ring in the kitchen decreased in direct proportion to time. "We should look in Gaara's room next, if we don't find it here." Cups and cans tumbled messily into the pale white bag and one missed the entrance, rolling drunk onto the burnt sienna of the tiles. Naruto bent to pick it up, looking at Sasuke as he righted himself, and dropped the rogue can into the bag. "Since we had to change clothes in there and all after I dragged you out of the pool," he added, leaving his eyes to skim over Sasuke's features a bit longer than was necessary before he turned away and continued clearing the countertop with much clash and clutter.

Sasuke, wheeling his gaze away after a moment with a blank expression, decided it was time to check the floor for his missing ring. He pushed loosely off the counter edge he'd been leaning on, lean and withdrawn as he scanned the tiles and slowly moved around the island. Standing there in Gaara's brightly lit kitchen, cleaning out beer cans on a sluggish Thursday afternoon as if it was supposed to mean something he suddenly felt overcome by the sensation that he was incredibly, unbelievably young, only no one knew it because it was the biggest secret of his life. The secret. And yet he also felt worn and maybe jaded and just a little uneasy. He realized that tonight he wouldn't need to set his alarm clock because tomorrow there would be no class to go to, and for one brief moment this seemed violently, acutely important, so much so that he almost gasped out loud. The moment passed, and he passed the island and some minutes later he concluded that his ring wasn't going to be found on the floor either.

* * *

--nostratic

ps. the queen of england jibe (if it can even be called that)...that's not offensive is it? a thousand pardons I ask if otherwise.


	10. Chapter 9

Thanks for the reviews and things. =] Merry Christmas.

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**C H A P T E R N I N E**

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Naruto had finished with the counter. He stood by the refrigerator on the other side of the kitchen, one hand grasping the heavy garbage bag at his side, staring at Sasuke and chewing his lower lip.

"Well." He pulled at the drawstrings of the bag in mild frustration and perhaps anxiety when Sasuke finally lifted his eyes from the floor. "I guess we just cleaned Gaara's kitchen for nothing."

Sasuke looked at him impassively for a moment, and then turned his head to stare just as blankly out the small window, the light glowing onto his profile making him almost ethereally pale. He cracked the thumb of his right hand under his fingers so that his hand was fisted for a moment and then relaxed. "I guess we did."

Naruto grimaced in lazy acknowledgement of their predicament and stared down at the garbage bag in distaste. "I'm just going to leave this here," he decided, making a show of letting go of the drawstring and watching as it slowly collapsed onto its side. He looked back up at Sasuke with a rueful grin. "Let's go crash Gaara's emo party." Sasuke leveled him a contemplative glance and then began making his way to the door, letting his gaze trail along the floor tiles. Naruto stepped around the bulging mass of bagged cans and met Sasuke at the doorway, stuffing his hands somewhat restlessly into his jeans as the other boy passed through first and left his hand on the handle just long enough for Naruto to follow him. "Sank youu," Naruto hummed in a faux Japanese accent, a lop-sided smile tacked to his face as Sasuke shot him a what-the-fuck look over his shoulder but neglected to comment, instead turning to tread his way down the hallway towards the foot of the stairs. It was all quiet along the wooden floorboards. Light shone in angular strips, the color of warm afternoon embers, and it was dim.

Sasuke put a hand the newel post and swiveled around onto the staircase, starting up the steps two at a time and then one by one in a brisk gait. He watched the steps directly before him, and listened to the soft thudding of their feet. Naruto was close behind, grabbing the banister ever so often to boost himself forward in lanky strides. On the landing, Sasuke paused and looked towards the right in the direction of the music that had grown louder and clearer as they'd ascended the stairs. He glanced sideways at Naruto who had begun to inch past him, seeing as he was blocking the way. Naruto nodded down the dark hallway that extended beyond the landing. "That way," he informed, and started off towards the one room whose door hung slightly ajar. They passed the lone wooden stand and a useless-looking armoire that inhabited the landing and made their way down the pale gloomy blue walls of the hallway. The music pounded louder and louder from within the visible crack of an equally gloomy room, a harsh deep growling in what sounded like German and the dirtiest, heaviest, and most relentlessly punishing bass line Sasuke had ever heard. It was utterly _stygian_.

Naruto hesitated for a moment at the doorway, raising an arm and knocking twice before pushing it open; Sasuke doubted it made a difference, the music was so deafeningly loud. The room was dark—darker than the hallway even. Although a little messy and suggesting a generally unwholesome atmosphere it was done up with as much taste, or at least visual concordance, as the rest of the house. In this case a morose, muted red turned shadowy with the heavily curtained window (is there even a window behind all that red?) and the detached, analytical glow of an open laptop, the sole source of light in the room. Sasuke wasn't one for disorder but he was almost relieved that the crimson duvet was wrinkled and unmade, that clothes were strewn about the hardwood floors, disappearing into the darkness under the bed and within the cluttered closet, and that band posters were chaotically tacked to the oppressive walls. It made Gaara seem human, even if the clothes were a uniform shade of pitch black (like his _soul_), and the band names could be found on one of the extreme ends of the political correctness spectrum.

The angst-ridden adolescent in question sat cross-legged and rigid on a desk chair. He would have melted into the darkness if not for the unearthly paleness of his skin, tinged blue in the artificial luminescence of the screen at which he was unemotionally staring. Sasuke had the strange impression for a moment that the tormenting, grating, indistinguishably clashing grunge was not coming from the laptop at all but from the stoic boy himself. It seeped through the pores of his marble face, his essence fully occupying the room like an iron will in particulate form that beat against the walls in rhythm to the martial chords of his music, leaving little room for anything else. Next to him, Naruto was trying to get Gaara's attention. "Gaara! Hey Gaara!" Scarlet hair shifted and the boy turned at the intrusive sound, pallid eyes gleaming eerily like a cat, his features appearing emaciated in the high-contrast obscurity. He did not blink at their presence. Naruto stepped over a jacket on the floor, approaching the foot of the bed. "Hey, why the hell is it so dark in here?" he shouted over the music, squeezing past Gaara's chair and reaching the deeply draping curtains on the other side of the bed. He raised a hand up and yanked them open in a single swift motion; terrific, jarring brightness flooded into the room. There was light beyond the blood-red gloom, and for a moment Sasuke was surprised. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, though, so he dismissed the notion as ridiculous.

Suddenly the anguished screeches of pounding electric guitars seemed far too loud and out of place, and in the presence of natural sunlight Gaara didn't seem nearly so inscrutable or sinister. He was just a boy, sitting a little hunched on his chair and gazing at Naruto with the smallest, most miniscule of frowns pulling on the alabaster of his face. In normal people emotive-speak, that meant he was growling in raged indignation, but Gaara will be Gaara. Naruto turned towards said boy and grimaced as if the music were a physical entity threatening to gouge his eyes out, striding over to the desk and bending over—one arm tensed on the surface supporting him, a foot slightly raised off the floor as he leaned—to squint at the monitor. "Hanzel und Gretyl?" he shouted disbelievingly, probably unable to hear himself think. Sasuke could have sworn Gaara flinched just a little. "You _still _listen to their crap?" He reached blindly for the mouse and turned down the volume so that the heavy industrial beat faded into the backdrop. No one spoke for a moment, as if the new quiet required some time to fully settle into the corners of the now bright-lit room.

Naruto straightened up and beamed down at his strange friend who was staring at him with that unsettling X-ray gaze of his. "Hello Gaara," he said calmly, genially. "Thought we'd drop in for a visit." He grinned across the room at Sasuke once and turned back to Gaara, rubbing his eye and letting his hand run down his cheek as he dropped it to his side again. He looked tired, for once. "So we checked downstairs and it wasn't there. We're just going to look around in your room, and if we don't find it in here…" he bit his lip and glanced at Sasuke, who was still standing by the door with his hands in his pockets. "Then we'll take someone in off the street and hold them hostage until it appears or something because I have no idea where the fuck it'd be otherwise."

So that was it, then. Again no one said anything at the blunt admission and Naruto brought a hand up to rub his nape, bowing his head down and sideways to give the unmade bed a weary, pensive look. Gaara turned silently back to his computer after a few seconds of eerie Naruto-gazing and minimized a window. He opened another one.

"Too bad Uchiha can't remember a thing," he droned suddenly in the direction of his monitor. His gaze lingered for a moment on the screen and then slid away to stare at Naruto, slow and heavy like honey. Naruto didn't answer but he dropped his arm and looked down at him, a certain anxiety present in the stillness of his eyes. Gaara turned placidly towards his computer again. "Too bad Uchiha," he continued in the same strange, monotonous voice, "has forgotten all about it." The statement hung in the quiet room (faint thrums of music keep playing in the afternoon light, obtuse). It hung deliberate and simple and thus implicative, so Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Naruto looked pissed. "What the hell are you trying to say, Gaara?" he demanded angrily, voice harsh. He mussed up his hair in frustration and then gestured forcefully in Sasuke's direction, scowling at the ruby head of hair in front of him. "It's not like—it's not like Sasuke deliberately forgot all of last night!" He glared up at Sasuke for a moment; his hand drifted back to his side, forgotten. "It's not like he could help it," he continued, but with less vehemence, eyes searching the boy slouching glumly by the door.

His brows were creased. He was framed by the light from the window and it softened the edges of his figure, his messy mop of hair glowing incandescently before the background of a tree-shaded, quiet street. Was he actually thinking that Sasuke was lying? That he'd really waste an entire day on a wild goose chase—for what? Sasuke almost smirked and let his gaze flitter over Naruto's tense visage. "You're a moron," he muttered at length, a dismissive murmur of admonishment. He zeroed in on Gaara again and stepped further into the room "Let's get this over with."

Gaara observed Sasuke over his shoulder for a moment, a clinical stare. He turned back to his computer like a shrug and ignored them both as Naruto sighed, approached his bed, gripped the duvet, and shook it out as if expecting the ring to just magically fall from an inconspicuous fold. When it didn't, the bed was wordlessly deemed the safe zone and both boys began to pile misplaced clothes, school bags, CD cases onto its ruffled cotton surface. After a few seconds of this, during which a particularly aggravating song strained out of the tinny speakers, Sasuke began to scowl openly at the fact that he was cleaning Gaara's room for him; as if reading his mind, the boy announced in his statuesque, socially-deprived way (eyes eternally glued to the screen): "Remind me to tip you Uchiha. Even though you fucked yourself over of your own accord."

Sasuke straightened up stiffly, a deconstructed bit of black denim in hand (where on the body does this _go_?) and glared at the back of Gaara's head. "Hn." Naruto, who'd been scuffling around on the floor on the other side of the bed, hoisted himself up by the edge of the mattress and scoffed.

"Shut up, Gaara," he said, irritated on Sasuke's behalf, and made his way purposefully around the foot of the bed and past Sasuke towards the open door of the closet. Sasuke watched as he bent slightly to kick at the heap of clothing that threatened to tumble out at its base, elbow propped on the doorframe near his head and thumb absently massaging his scalp. "Hey Gaara, your closet _reeks_. Didn't you say you have cleaning ladies or something?"

Gaara shifted his head slightly to the side at Naruto's smothered accusation. "They don't come in here," he informed ominously. And turned back to whatever emo activity he was partaking in online.

Naruto craned his neck to glance at Gaara over his shoulder, snorting disbelievingly in amusement. He leaned back into the shadows of the closet to commence dragging out clothes by means of his foot, shaking his head. "Scary, Gaara. Really just _terrifying_." He snickered loudly and crouched to pick through the inchoate pile of clothing articles boasting varying degrees of hygiene. "I'm sure the cleaning ladies just go running in horror at the sight of your tightie-whities from Hell."

Sasuke paused and stifled a snort. He passed the laugh off as a strangled cough when Naruto turned to grin widely at him. "What do you think, Sasuke? Are Gaara's tightie-whities nightmare worthy?"

Sasuke glanced at Gaara (who was doggedly, austerely ignoring them), something that looked suspiciously like a humored smile on his normally severe lips. He muffled another snort of laughter that slipped out at the sight of the boy, ending up with a small but very existent grin. "Idiot."

Naruto mock-cackled and stood up. Sasuke had been squinting under the bed in a casual squat, one arm resting loosely on his knee and the other holding aside the bed skirt. He looked up at the stretching Naruto, arching a lazy brow as the boy peered down at him through a yawn. Naruto jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, still in mid-yawn. "Well," he announced in an indistinct mumble as soon as he could manage, his nose crinkling as tried to close his mouth, "I don't see how it could have made its way into the closet anyway." He shrugged and looked to the side along the wall, bringing a hand up to run it thoughtfully through his hair. Next to the door there was a wooden bookcase with a very distinct lack of books and, in the corner, an electric guitar leaning haphazardly against its stand. Naruto moved to it with mild interest and attempted to strum a couple of strings; it made no noise. "When was the last time you actually tried to play this thing Gaara?" he asked, glancing behind him when Gaara didn't answer. "Gaara?" The sociopath in question seemed unwilling to un-stick his eyes from the screen.

"I don't know," he answered finally, without inflection or emotion. Naruto grinned mischievously.

"Hey can I, uh, try my hand at it? See how fast my fingers can fly?" He wiggled his fingers, palms upward like some evil maniac, and _leered_. Sasuke stood up, having completed his thorough interrogation of the monsters under Gaara's bed, and threw a moldy sock at Naruto's face. Naruto grimaced and flung it away. Sasuke smirked.

Over at the emo-desk, Gaara had finally turned around. He looked Naruto up and down as the boy glared at Sasuke, and let his gaze travel slowly to his arrogantly entertained counterpart standing by the bed. "Don't touch it," he droned robotically.

Naruto broke the staring contest with Sasuke and tsk'd at Gaara. "What!" he muttered in pretend outrage. "You would deny an artist his only pleasure in life, you cruel man?"

Gaara's lips quirked oddly, and Naruto could only watch helplessly and in complete horror as that quirk grew into a full-blown smirk. "I don't think that's your only pleasure, Naruto," he stated blandly, read: _evilly_. [Sea-green eyes flit very obviously to the third boy in the room for the briefest of milliseconds.]

Naruto choked on air, his eyebrows reaching for his shaggy hairline. "What!" he exclaimed again, but with all the feelings behind the outrage this time.

Gaara stared. "I said, I don't think—"

"I know what you said! Shut up already!" Naruto yelped, scratching his shoulder in irritation and discomfort. His disgruntled gaze flickered on Sasuke as well, but he didn't seem to realize it because a few seconds later he sort of stilled and awkwardly moved his eyes away, scowling at the bed sheets.

Not that Sasuke hadn't been staring right back. He arched his brows somewhat curiously at Naruto, regarding him in amusement as the other boy suddenly groaned and flopped backwards with a downy poof of air onto Gaara's bed and all the dirty laundry that had found its way there. Politely, he inquired: "So what the fuck crawled up your ass and died?"

Hair askew and spread-eagle on the bed, Naruto squinted reproachfully up at his sarcastic friend. "Silence, noob. This is entirely your fault."

"I wouldn't say entirely," came an infuriatingly listless voice from Gaara's direction. Apparently, he'd decided to add his two cents, good soul that he is.

Naruto lifted his head and slammed it back into the mattress, arching a little and adjusting his hips to get comfortable on the lumpy, uneven piles of sheets and clothing. "You!" he growled at the ceiling. "You _really_ need to shut up, Gaara."

The hem of Naruto's shirt rode up as his pulled his arms up to clasp them behind his head for support and settled into the wrinkled duvet, the loose white cotton contrasting with the tone of his abs. His chin tilted back lithely as he frowned at the ceiling, the corner of his mouth wrinkling, and he shifted his shoulders again.

Sasuke propped himself up against the glossed wood of the footboard, gleaming white in the light of the window, and observed the street below. "How are your random issues with anger management my fault?" he demanded, the smirk audible in his voice.

At that Naruto sat up indignantly, legs slightly spread and knees bent outwards as he shifted balance and leaned back on an arm (hand burying into the soft folds of fabric). His shirt hugged the lean lines of his torso. "Hey, I'll have you know," he jabbed, eyes narrowed on Sasuke, "that I am doing a _great_ job at handling my issues. You, on the other hand…" he looked to the side and snorted, bringing a hand up to scratch lightly at his stomach.

Sasuke watched as the thin white cotton snagged softly on the fingers and after a few seconds Naruto's eyes stilled and slowly roved back towards him, not in question but maybe wariness and a vague anxiety. The fingers fell back to the red of the duvet and clenched minutely, so that the tips dug into the richness. The slim stomach curved in a casual slouch moved discreetly in and out in time with Naruto's slow breaths. Naruto and breathing should have been some sort of athletic art; amazing how it was a body like any other, but a body that in its careless, carefree, stubbornly physical presence reminded everyone around him that they were all very much alive. Magnificent, fragile, infinitely complex composites of veins and nerves and pumping hearts. His skin was bleached pale where the glowing outdoor light settled around him, the regular shadows seemed darker and blue-tinged where it didn't. The blankets that coiled about him looked cool and soft in the way that Sunday mornings are.

Sasuke inhaled suddenly and brought his eyes back up to Naruto's striking blue ones, opening his mouth to speak but finding with some confusion that his tongue had no idea what to say. Quite uninvited, Gaara spoke for him:

"Have you finished? Take your sexual tension elsewhere."

Naruto whipped his eyes towards the much unappreciated comment, growling "What the _fuck_, Gaara!" and grabbing a balled-up t-shirt in order to throw it violently at the back of the boy's head. His efforts were ignored; the statue in residence didn't even flinch as the shirt slipped off his shoulder and landed soundlessly on the floor.

Sasuke, for his part, was undergoing a minor, contained aneurysm. (Does he even know I'm _gay_?). And so he glared but said nothing and his jaw clenched while his back stiffened.

Naruto ran a hand roughly down his face, fingers harrowed into his skin, and he groaned tiredly so that his hair and expression were as disheveled as the sheets around him. "_God_," he moaned at nothing in particular, unless maybe the knobbly knees poking in the straining denim of his skinny jeans had suddenly offended him. "Fuck this, Sasuke. If Gaara's going to be a dick all afternoon, let's just go." He began to shuffle feet-first off the bed, ignoring the couple of clothing articles that slipped off the edge with his brusque movements.

Sasuke gave an annoyed huff of breath and scowled coldly. "Not that I'm dying to continue this little social but I still need to find my ring. We're not going anywhere."

Naruto glanced up at him from under slightly arched brows, still on the edge of the bed. He frowned and looked at his shoes, settling his elbows on his thighs and exhaling so that a few stray fringes of hair puffed upwards. Turning his head left he studied Gaara's back for a moment before straightening up. "Well what do you want to do? If it's not here, it's not here."

Sasuke scowled out the window, drumming his fingers tensely against the wood of the footboard. He stopped suddenly and gripped the round post head viciously. After a few second he unclenched his hand. Then clenched it again. "It's somewhere." He roved his gaze over blankly and studied Naruto's resigned frown. "We missed it somewhere." Sasuke let his eyes drift shut momentarily and dragged a weary hand through his hair. He was so fucking exhausted, which was to be expected seeing as he was running on three hours of sleep and a hangover—

Unless. He snapped his head up and stared at Naruto, hand suddenly gripping a fistful of his hair as a surge of something that might have been hope but was more likely serotonin and endorphins worked its way through his body. "The pool."

Naruto's mouth slackened, blue eyes wide, and he sat up straight. The moment of surprise, then the echo: "The fucking pool!" An expression of eager relief dawned on his face and suddenly he was on his feet. "Dude, of course!" He strode past Sasuke towards the door, not looking at Gaara who'd surprisingly deigned to award their departure an actual glance. "Gaara, see you later, man. Sorry about this whole thing." Gaara simply let his gaze flicker over to Sasuke, who nodded at him stiffly and not without some disgruntlement as he turned and began to follow after Naruto who'd already disappeared into the hall. He reached the door and stepped out.

"Don't try too hard, Uchiha," Gaara's voice called from inside as Sasuke pulled the door closed behind him. He paused; but only for a second before shutting the door more roughly than was necessary. He was far too tired and otherwise occupied to be concerned with the fact that, as per usual, he didn't know what the hell Gaara was talking about.

Naruto looked at him over his shoulder as they made their brisk way to the head of the stairs, businesslike and admittedly jittery with anticipation. "Can't believe we didn't think of this." He swiveled and started shuffling down the stairs, a hand lightly skimming the railing.

Sasuke hurried down after him. "It's not necessarily there, moron, quit getting your hopes up." Naruto ignored him, his shoulders clearly defined through his shirt from this angle as they loped down the steps. At the bottom they turned and moved purposefully down the warm lit hall, past the table and the impersonal decorative accents, past the kitchen, towards the glass door leading out back. The clean cut, meticulously pruned green of the yard hovered indistinct through the glaze. Naruto pushed it open and the image cleared, the heavy warmth of the afternoon hitting them like a wall.

Sasuke squinted in the glare and stepped out after Naruto into the back patio, letting the door swing shut behind them. Naruto jogged down the treated wooden planks of the porch steps onto the slate pathway and made a beeline for the violent blue of the pool, sun-scattered glints of white rippling its calm surface. A line of dark hedge bushes ran along an extension of the house on their left, curtained windows blankly peering down at them from head level. Where the house ended a raised deck began, a neat set of steps on the far end curving down onto the pool area. The lawn was green in a U.S. Open sort of way, tall hedged walls closed off the whole half-acre in a manifestation of the American preoccupation with privacy, more pool chairs than would ever be needed by the inhabitants of the house rested in perfect alignment along the sleek swerve of the water's edge. And Naruto was taking off his goddamn shirt. Back towards Sasuke as he bent and peered into the water, he practically tore it up and over his head with a healthy lack of qualms or self-consciousness, dropping it carelessly by his feet onto the rugged stone pattern of the pool deck.

"Well, I can't see a fucking thing." Naruto looked back and grinned at Sasuke, squinting lopsidedly in the sun. "But we'll just have to look for it, I guess."

Sasuke stared back wordlessly, his exhaustion hitting him at an odd time. He was thinking about the curve of shoulder blades, the casual slouch of diehard punky teenagers. The summer induction of lazy smiles. The way hipbones fit in jeans. He blankly turned away and stared off into the benignly looming oaks along the edge of the yard, green against the quiet afternoon. He moved a quarter ways up the pool edge, turning listlessly to look down through the Clearasil distortion of cool water at the spotty and somewhat mottled pool floor. Objects in leafy chlorine-water are farther than they appear. A dead bee was washing up against the pool wall with the soft repetitive weight of surface undulations, closer and closer to the circulation outlet.

Naruto was looking at him. "You okay with swimming, bastard?" Sasuke flicked an annoyed gaze on the idiot. "Or should I do all the work? Though I don't think Gaara wants you puking in his pool, Sasuke. Maybe you should sit out." A stupid grin.

"Stop being a moron." And Sasuke took off his shirt too, arms crossed, two hands, up and over. Naruto shrugged, turned away slowly and with an amused smile on his lips. He kicked off those dumb loafers of his while unbuttoning his jeans and yanking them down (should someone get the butter?), bent over and hopping a bit on one foot to keep balance as he shook off the leg. Straightening up in nothing but black boxer briefs now he flashed Sasuke a sunny grin and without further ado dived headfirst into the water; careless, carefree, and yet with flawless form in a way that suggested he was a person to whom the physical came naturally. His silhouette streamed a blurred trajectory towards the far side of the pool, breaking the surface near the deep end. Naruto swiveled his neck around with a spray of drops, his hair darkened and plastered to the side of his face, his mouth open for air. His eyes fell on Sasuke.

"_Fuck_, it's cold!" he shouted, laughing as if that was supposed to be a good thing. He stared at Sasuke a bit, breaking into a couple of strokes towards where he was standing at the edge. "If it's always so fucking hot, why the hell are pools so cold?"

Sasuke shrugged, frowning, and looked off at the oaks again. It was still very much day, though the light had a different timbre to it, a slightly warmer one, a quiet length to the shadows that spoke of the encroaching evening. The sun burned a little on his bare shoulders and he squinted.

"Well? You getting in or what, Hangover Man?" Naruto flicked icy water at him, the droplets landing like needles on his torso. Sasuke turned and glared down at him, bringing an absent hand up to rub at the afflicted skin. Naruto had propped his arms up on the pool edge and was staring up at Sasuke with his head supported on his knuckles and an expression like he found something very funny about the whole situation. He grinned at Sasuke's scowl.

"Moron," Sasuke muttered and bent to undo his laces, Naruto watching him quietly as he did. He straightened and toed off his chucks, unbuckling his belt and zipping down his fly, suddenly flicking his eyes up to level Naruto a rather mocking stare. He let his pants drop and stepped out of the denim that had gathered around his ankles. He was wearing boxer briefs as well, navy blue ones. Naruto squinted up at him, treks of water trailing down the side of his face and dripping off the tips of his sopping hair. He lowered his gaze and looked past Sasuke towards the house. After a moment he pushed off the pool wall into a smooth backstroke, flipping over after the first few, and swam towards the center of the pool. He stopped where the floor began to incline and treaded water for a bit. Then he sucked in a breath of air and ducked underwater, pushing down to the bottom like a frog, the soft drifting pause between each stroke speaking of the weight of water. Sasuke stepped forward and toed the edge of the deck, standing thin and hunched as he peered down into the cool eight feet of the deep end. He looked back up at the empty and immaculate lawn, the mute trees, the blundering heat of the monotonously blinding sky. Summer days so sunny they're tragic. He thought of Itachi.

Stepping out as if onto some unseen ledge, back straight, he let the water swallow him.

* * *

--nostratic

ps. i actually quite like hanzel und gretyl. *is slightly abashed*

and they're satirical by the way. just a disclaimer.


	11. Chapter 10

..

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**C H A P T E R T E N**

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It rushed and bubbled past him as he sank, the momentum of his fall dissolving into a weightless drift with the sudden quiet of submergence. His hair clouded around his face. And god, was it fucking cold. Stroke inducing. His muscles seized up, his skull ached faintly, and he realized his jaw was clenched. Snapping open his eyes into the eerie distortion of aquamarine water, the pool floor and far wall oddly present as if in a different dimension, he pushed off the wall into a smooth arch and dolphin kicked his way along the pool bottom. The pressure choked at him from all sides, like it threatened to crush his skull and bind his veins shut. God; he couldn't breathe. He let bubbles stream out of his mouth and kicked off the floor, hard. Too fucking slow. He stared at the white mirror roof of sky as he floated upwards, waited a lifetime and over again. Lungs caught. Finally, _finally_, his head broke the surface. He sucked in a harsh breath, and it was hot enough that the air blustered against his face.

He kicked to the edge; when he reached it he slapped his arms onto the hot deck, hunching up and resting his forehead on his fists. His breaths dragged.

"Sasuke, you okay?" Naruto said from behind him. Sasuke rolled his head and peered back at him from between his dripping bangs. Naruto was treading water and staring from some feet away. "Stick to the shallow end or something. You really look like you're about to hurl, dude."

Sasuke groaned quietly and rolled his head back to look down at the tiny cavities in the grout between the deck tiles. The water didn't feel so bad anymore. It was cold but it was water. He felt as if the toxins in his blood were being flushed out through osmosis. Slowly, he picked himself up off the deck edge and let himself sink to the shoulders, enjoying the reprieve from the sun. He kicked off from the pool wall and broke into a couple of languorous backstrokes. "I'm fine, moron," he said as he passed Naruto, who in response proceeded to splash water into his face. Sasuke kicked out and splashed back but Naruto grabbed onto his ankle and, with an evil grin, pulled him under. Sasuke lunged and they wrestled underwater for a few gripping seconds, arms twisting and fingers digging. When they broke the surface Naruto was laughing weakly and still gripping tightly onto Sasuke's forearms. Sasuke's breaths were coming harsh and short, and he was in danger of laughing himself as they struggled to stay upright. Water streamed down his face. Naruto quieted, but his hands were still on Sasuke.

"Ha…" he said, like he would start laughing again. They were both breathing hard. "Ha…" He detached a tense hand from Sasuke's shoulder, only to bring it down flat and shaky against his skin. His face was smiling but it looked more pained than anything. Sasuke realized he had a hand on Naruto's middle. Naruto pushed at his shoulder suddenly; it was jerky, and felt real. Not two seconds later Naruto shoved him again, with both hands this time. He looked like he was about to cry. Sasuke drew away a little and glared. Then he shoved back.

"What the fuck, idiot."

Naruto didn't retaliate. He drifted backwards with the force of the shove, expression seething. After a while he reached out and pushed Sasuke's shoulder one more time, but it was listless. "Fuck you," he said, arm splashing back into the water.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke said. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Naruto almost sneered. He began to make his way around Sasuke, not meeting his angry gaze. "Guess what asshole? I don't want to talk about it," he said. Sasuke frowned and stared after Naruto as he passed him, showing him his back. Then the boy was off towards the other end of the pool, arching smoothly under the water. Sasuke hissed under his breath and snapped his head around to glare in the opposite direction. Someone needed their brain rearranged. He felt like he was underwater again. Sasuke stood there until Naruto resurfaced across the span of chlorine blue water, back still to him. Then he turned around and swam to the shallow end, throwing himself under the surface and allowing his expression to be smoothed blank. He turned his head side to side, searching slowly along the pool floor for his ring, but only with half a mind. The physical quiet of the cold water felt good against his aching head. He let himself float face-down, and for a while thought that he didn't mind the lack of air quite so much and that breathing was rather a burden.

His ring wasn't there, though, and all too soon his lungs were beginning to hurt. The water swayed him minutely back and forth and everything was silent. He suddenly stood up, breathing deeply of the warm afternoon air. Water streamed down his back.

"It's not in the deep end." Naruto was nearby, in deeper water. His face held no trace of his previous anger. It was, in fact, strangely blank.

Sasuke pulled the wet strands of his hair on his forehead away from his eyes. Eventually he looked away. Sucking in a breath, he ducked under the water again and pushed himself along the pool floor.

Six seconds, seven, eight.

A leaf drifted along in the eerie quiet ahead. He went up for air. Then he was under again, bubbles escaping his mouth, his skin pale and bloated in the distortion of water.

Seven seconds, eight. Nine. And again.

He let his arms spread out at his sides and floated, suspended in time, within the water. Hair billowing about him. The fourth time he went up for air, breathing harshly and gritting his teeth, he looked at Naruto. The boy hadn't moved from his previous spot. He treaded water lazily, staring calmly at Sasuke. Sasuke stood, chest heaving slightly, and brought his hand up to look at it. He stood there until his breaths slowed. Finally, letting it fall back to his side empty and limp, he said, "Well, it's not in the fucking shallow end."They were quiet for some time. Sasuke was looking at his fist through the depth of slightly rolling water, at the way it made his skin seem more rubber than flesh, when he heard Naruto begin to swim to the pool edge. He watched as Naruto pulled himself out of the water, his shoulders blades hunched and dew-drop wet as he climbed onto the deck. "Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, staring up at him.

Naruto glanced at him over his shoulder but didn't respond. He made for one of the wooden pool chairs but instead of lying himself down he skirted around it and, upon reaching the perfectly trimmed grass, flopped himself down there instead. For a while, Sasuke watched the soles of Naruto's feet and the rise and fall of his chest through the white legs of the pool chairs. Then he swam to the pool edge as well and hoisted himself onto the rough deck.

The ground burned under his feet, and water dripped from the soaked cotton of his boxer briefs. He felt the heat of the day, strong and suppressant. Padding gingerly over the deck tiles, he reached the grass and stood over Naruto. The lean body gleamed wet in the sun. Sasuke didn't know if he'd ever seen so much of Naruto's thighs before. Neither spoke. Naruto turned his head to the side, looking off towards the trees with a frown and swallowing visibly. Sasuke glanced away as well, letting his gaze squint in the direction of the far wall. He shifted his weight to the other foot and tried to adjust to the present reality, to the fact that they'd run out of places to look. The truth of it sat about him, but he felt detached. Of course. Of course he'd never find it. That would be entirely too easy. Far too happy an ending.

He looked back down at Naruto, who'd bent a knee up and now lied with his hands held behind his head. Brows furrowed in the sun as if he was solving complex problems, Sasuke slowly lied down beside him. The grass was itchy and coarse and incredibly warm under his skin. Sasuke crossed his legs at his ankles and closed his eyes. He could fall asleep here. Sleep until tomorrow, and maybe the speech he had to deliver later that afternoon, and the ceremony, and Itachi, and the ring, and everything would just go _away_.

Beside him, Naruto spoke: "So what are we going to do?" Sasuke opened his eyes, but didn't answer. Naruto had turned his head to look at him. "Do you want to go back somewhere and double-check?"

Sasuke was appreciating the expansive blue of the sky. "No," he said after a while.

"Okay."

"I don't even fucking care anymore."

"That's okay."

"I never even gave a shit about that ring, you know?"

"Right."

"I couldn't give less of a fuck if Itachi gets a goddamn hernia when he finds out. Fuck him."

"Yeah. Screw Itachi."

"…Shut the fuck up, Naruto."

He didn't have to look to know that Naruto would be grinning. He looked anyway. Naruto was smiling at the sky, but it was shaped all wrong. Cynical, almost. His eyes were closed and his tan skin almost dry now except for where his hair trailed in dripping strands. Sasuke wanted to reach out and touch an exposed rib.

"Well," said Naruto, eyes still shut. "If that's that, how about you give me a ride back to my apartment?"

After regarding him for a moment, Sasuke turned back to the sky. He absently pulled blades of grass between his fingers, saying, "If you want." He paused, then added a quiet, almost inaudible, "Yeah. Okay."

Naruto readjusted his hands behind his head. "Good," he said. The quiet of the lawn around them, the occasional sound of a bird in the trees, reminded Sasuke that they were lying practically nude on the grass in someone else's backyard. Naruto had opened his eyes and was looking at him. At his torso, that is. Not at his face. Sasuke watched as he skimmed his gaze up to meet Sasuke's.

"I'm almost dry," Naruto said, turning away again.

"Hn," Sasuke said, shutting his eyes and exhaling softly. He was almost dry too. But he didn't want to move just yet. They lied there in the warmth, silent and still, for a while. Sasuke's thoughts drifted and slowed until they were more a warm glow than actual cognitive processes.

Eventually, however, Naruto sat up. Sasuke peeked an eye open and watched as the boy got to his feet and, stepping over Sasuke's legs, began walking away along the line of pool chairs. "You're going to get burned," he said over his shoulder.

Sasuke grunted and brought a hand up to drag it through his hair. It was an absolute mess. After a moment he sighed and stood up as well, feeling oddly relaxed. He followed Naruto around the chairs and the pool until they reached the pile of clothes they'd left on the other side. Naruto had crouched down and was digging through his jeans. He pulled out his phone.

"It's almost five," he said towards the ground. He didn't look up as Sasuke passed him on his way to his own clothes.

Sasuke stooped to pick up his jeans. He pulled them on, keeping his eyes averted as if he hadn't just spent the last half-hour half-naked with Naruto. "So how do you want to do this?" Naruto was saying. Sasuke looked at him. He'd already pulled his skinny jeans back on.

"Do what?"

Naruto bent and grabbed his v-neck off the floor. "You want to just drop me off and I'll take my own car to the ceremony, or are you going to give me a ride since I'm spending the night at your place?" He sounded angry for some reason.

Sasuke frowned and combed his fingers through his hair, feeling them tug against the knots. "Whatever," he said, almost confused but just exhausted, really. "I don't care."

Naruto shoved his feet into his shoes, his shirt already on, and smirked a little. He hadn't been wearing socks. "Well, thank you," he said, and began walking past Sasuke.

Sasuke stared after him. Ducking to snatch his shirt, he tugged it on over his head and started following.

"There's like, a side gate that goes to the driveway," Naruto said as Sasuke was pulling the hem of his shirt down around his abdomen. "I don't think Gaara will care if we don't say bye." He kept walking at a brisk pace, and didn't turn around. Sasuke scowled.

"What the rush?" he asked, not pretending that it didn't bother him.

"No rush," Naruto replied. Now he sounded too cheerful. He sounded like he was about to choke something.

"Bullshit." Naruto didn't answer. They'd reached the space between the vine-covered wall that enclosed the property and the side of the house. It was shady here. An iron gate with spiked finials blocked off the view of the street ahead. "If you have something to say then say it, moron. Don't go around fucking shoving people for no reason and then acting like nothing's wrong."

Naruto stopped walking. He turned and looked at Sasuke. His hair was messy and sticking out in different directions. A drop of water trailed from his hairline down along his ear, so Sasuke stopped too. Then Naruto opened his mouth as if were about to speak but, again, nothing came out. After a while he turned away and kept walking. When they reached the gate, Naruto did not wait for Sasuke but passed through without looking back.

_---[The previous night]---_

_So they all stumble into the house, out of the night. The cool of trees like no other cool and Sasuke stumbles a little but Naruto holds him up. Haha..._

_Hardwood floors and yellow ceiling light. There are people around them. Sasuke thinks maybe he's in someone's house. _

_He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks like he's supposed to, because he's that fucking drunk, that's the only way he can keep from falling face first. Muscle memory is his friend. _

_God, why are they so fucking loud? In the hallway, around him, in the kitchen and Sakura and Ino are there. He hadn't noticed their legs. Like sticks. And so maybe he's in a kitchen and the window is black with the hour and he breathes the shuddering stink of alcohol, alcohol like a nose-ringed bull. Stumbles through the night. _

_That girl is Gaara's sister, Sasuke knows this. She is leaning and pulling cups out of a cupboard. Red plastic packaged. Blond hair. _

_Sasuke's head is pounding and he's sweating. He wonders if he's approaching hyperventilation. But Naruto is laughing at something right over his shoulder, like maybe somebody said something, and so everything is fine. Just fine and Sasuke grips a counter in front of him. Black marble. He thinks his fingers are too pale, and right now if he turns his wrist he can see the spidery blue of veins. Deprived of oxygen. Wrists and drunken nights and a feeling something is happening. Sasuke wishes he wasn't so damn drunk. Alcohol, the molecule itself, buzzing through his veins like fuck-the-world and i-don't-care. _

_Pouring of liquids and Sasuke's eyes latch onto the vodka bottle. It hadn't been open before. Now it was and it was tilted. Temari, pouring alcohol. May there be eternal mercy for older siblings. _

_Sasuke finds himself walking to a door and Naruto has a hand on his back. To the living room. Everyone has drinks and someone shoves one in Sasuke's hand. It pisses him off that it's got Sunny D in it. Like the orange sugar is an offense to the clear burn of vodka. Its clean, medical burn like winter surgery to the brain on humid nights. It's just the sweat, Sasuke reminds himself. _

_So they lounge on couches, and the lights are off and someone brought a cheap little strobe light and it flashes seizure-like over the leather of the couch and the music is so fucking loud. Why is it so fucking loud? Girls are dancing, drunk, to high-tempo electroclash, harsh and grinding and dance dance dance. Obscene and that makes it better. _

_Naruto seated next to him, smells like his whiskey and like the citrus of their teenage cocktails and like, and also like; Sasuke doesn't know but his head is turned towards it and he can breathe easy for once. _

_Except for now. Swigs of Sunny D vodka that don't even burn anymore, his mouth and brain are so burning numb except now he's spinning dizzy and when you feel like throwing up it's no longer light and humming and a good burn of sweaty skin but it hits you hard inside, heavy, thick, you'll-never-escape dragging down of nausea. It pulls on the roof of his throat and under his eyes. And in his chest. Fuck it fuck it fuck it he was going to puke again and that was a thought that was very real-life right now. Sasuke forgets everything, and grips. _

_He's on his feet somehow and Naruto is holding him up and it gets cooler but maybe that's because there's the yellow light. The entrance hall and no one around, down a hallway, Naruto drags him to a door and inside there's white light and it's a toilet and Sasuke retches. Ahh god. Retches and pukes into the serene white of the toilet bowl. There is poutpourri on the sink top, Sasuke notices. How stupid. He gasps for breath during a break, more sweaty and feverish than he ever thought he could be, staring desperate up at the walls around him as he sucks in breath and breath and his brain just bleeds pain and he can't breathe right because it feels like there's something lodged in his throat but there isn't. Someone rubbing his back. A few seconds later and Sasuke knows it's Naruto of course. Of course he'd be there. He needs to be there. Sasuke retches again and studies the toilet seat and the way his puke floats in water as he tries to breathe again. Fuck. Godamnit. _

_He feels better now, he thinks, so he tries to stand and sip from the sink but his face hits the faucet and it's clumsy and slow and Naruto is there helping and embarrassing. _

_So breathe in/out and stare and blue eyes in the loneliness of strange restrooms. Flush of toilet and out in the hall, then back in flashing, streaming, blinking, seizure lights. Naruto is laughing and Sasuke looks up and sees everyone looking. A drinking game. O camaraderie. Naruto is laughing. _

_Sasuke is fine with that. The puke made him feel like a cheat. Weak, and like he's lost something of the poison and it really needs to fucking be replaced because puke has a way of making you extremely sober. _

_And so, a drinking game. Sasuke doesn't know the fucking rules. Is anybody okay enough to even set rules? The rule is: see who can fucking drown themselves first, but last longest, you know what I mean. The ones who have it bad. Sasuke has it bad. _

_A drinking game and Sasuke's on the couch feeling the heat and sweat of Naruto through the pounding of the sound system. Drinks and he feels like puking again but the whiskey is like water to him already, has been for hours. They're emptying bottles on the table in front of him, everyone else is draining them down. Sasuke doesn't know if he's still drinking or not. He is seeing in flashes. Now there's a shot in his hand. Now there isn't. He doesn't know._

_God. Head back on the cool couch, the coolness through his hair. Spin spin sugar and Sasuke is dragged into darkness._

_Opens eyes again and he doesn't know how much time has passed. Girls dancing and dancing, and they never stop fucking dancing to the loud fucking music. Sasuke groans, he groans, and there's a bottle in front of him so he grabs it and takes a straight swig. Ahh fuck. Mistake. He's up, leans, almost falls on top of the table. His legs are obviously no longer attached to his body. Naruto is next to him now. Hand on shoulder. "Hey Sasuke!" As if he was going to fall. Well maybe, he was. _

_Walk and turn and move. Sasuke remembers the hallway exists so there they go away from the sickening, vomit-inducing flashy darkness and down a hallway and there's a glass door now. Glass and quiet and blue-black of night, yellow glow of lonely doorways. Naruto opens it for him and Sasuke stumbles out into the back porch. Concrete and then down steps into the leafy night, foliage shuddering and huddled against the moonlight. _

_There is a serene green glow from the pool. Radioactive green glow. No wind, so little wind the water isn't even visible, it's just a green distortion of depth and light. Clearest, calmest, most crystalline surface you've ever seen except for when a leaf drifts over a wall-light and then you see how it moves. _

_Sasuke moves to a bush and pukes violently. It fucking hurts. After a while, it's not just uncomfortable but it fucking hurts. Especially when you have nothing left to give. Sasuke thinks for a moment puking would make an effective torture technique. _

_Kiba and someone. Shikamaru. Kiba laughing. "Oh ho Uchiha, puking his guts out, oh ho!" He's so fucking drunk, the stupid moron. Why does he know him? Sasuke then he remembers he's the one puking in a bush. _

_Naruto: "Hey man shut up!" and his hand is fisting the back of Sasuke's shirt while Kiba stands over by the pool and laughs and laughs like something so funny. Sasuke growls and Naruto moves them closer and Kiba has a stupid fucking look on his face so Sasuke pushes out and Kiba stumbles and almost falls back but with a grin, and before Sasuke fucking knows it, before he registers the yank on his stomach that is fear and adrenaline, the rush of the coldest fucking thing he's ever felt enveloping him in wet green luminosity, he knows he's been pushed in. _

_An amazing encounter with science, he realizes, when he gasps and tries to breathe and realizes that hurts more than anything he's ever felt. Fuck! No air. Your nose and mouth are stopped and you stare wide-eyed bug-eyed at the gray roughness of the pool wall through the night water. Bubbles streaming, rush of water in his ears, time slows as his body arches. Midnight black around here. Out. Black and silence. _

_When he comes to he feels like puking again so he twists to the side and it's water that comes out, still cold and strange and slimy even though it's been inside him. He's coughing, though it hurts his throat. Back to his back he looks up and meets Naruto's face, who's right over him and dripping and his hair is so fucking blond but it grays at night. Naruto. Inches from his shivering lips and gripping him tightly, hot like he'll disappear. Sasuke swallows whatever is lodged in his throat even though it hurts. Naruto is so fucking warm and Sasuke is dripping on cold concrete outside a strange house and he's so fucking drunk out of his mind._

_Naruto's chest above him. Naruto looks up suddenly, over and past Sasuke and he's talking. "Yeah. Yeah, man. I'm fine, he's fine." Someone else is taking and Naruto is talking to them. "Yeah we'll be right there."_

_Knees up and the warmth escapes and Naruto looks down on him and there's a hand extended, waiting. But Sasuke can't really move right now so Naruto grips him by the shoulders and they're back on the steps now, the door, glass and yellow stream out into the darkness and now they're inside and dripping and Sasuke finds it hard to breathe so he leans heavy into Naruto and feels his ring. Again, important to me both. Me and my stupid fucking past and maybe, maybe the future. His chaotic mind categorizes them together. A clerical error maybe, but then again maybe not at all. _

_So they're on the stairs and Naruto's arm stretches across his back and presses hard and it burns with heat. But it's so cold and shivery wet and the hardwood is slippery. _

_Turn right, a darkness, a room now. Clothes and cloth and quiet because the party is downstairs. His shirt is pulled up and his arms are raised heavily and now he shivers and stares because he's missing a shirt and Naruto is standing in front of him holding it. Naruto is closer now. Steps closer. Warm through the heavy dampness of his clothes. Rubs him down with something dry and it's the softest thing ever. So fucking soft and then there's a shirt pulled down over his head. Dry. Pants next. _

_They're unbuttoned and unzipped and Sasuke is trying to stay upright as Naruto stares down, pulls down his wet pants. Gentle and slow and then Naruto pushes him back but he doesn't fall he lands on a bed and the pants are pulled off the rest of the way. Warm as he's dried but the warmest thing, the warmest thing is when Naruto's finger brush against his thighs as they pull up soft cloth. Up around his feet and Sasuke shivers on his back on the mattress and there's a ceiling above him but it's not the cold that's making him shiver. So soft they burn nerves in ragged trails on damp skin. Sasuke is worried for a second because he remembers how electricity and water are not supposed to meet. _

_Ha. Ha. Naruto. Sasuke's dressed and left lying on his back stranded but Naruto's hand lingers and he's leaning over and still dripping. Dripping dripping. Blue flickering eyes dark in the darkness of the room as he stares and Sasuke realizes that this is probably Gaara's room and Gaara's clothes. _

_Naruto's hand on his cheek, pushing back hair. Warm warm warm. Blue eyes, soft of breaths. Sasuke would like nothing more than to just sleep. He could stay like this, just this. Light floods in though and Naruto pulls back and Sasuke can't see really but the door's open and Gaara's there in the yellow hallway light. "Gaara," says Naruto. "Hey," or something, Sasuke's just so tired and they're talking and Sasuke has a feeling that's something's off but he's thinking of the softness of the bed and that his hair is wet. Dark for a bit. Eyes closed. Open. Gaara's leaving, door shutting. And it's quiet, finally. But then Naruto's taking off his shirt and then his pants drenched wet and heavy and dripping puddles of chlorinated water. He's pulling clothes on and glances at Sasuke on the bed as he observes him and observes him like stone and half-lids of eyes. Dark in the darkness. _

_Sasuke's stomach starts tightening again and he breathes in sharply because he feels like he's going to puke. Staring wildly at patterns on the ceiling. Naruto is dressed now but he was lean and dripping in the moonlight. _

_Sasuke is pulled to his feet. He's so fucking tired. No one understands and the only thing keeping him up is Naruto, and he's pushing him out again, out the way they came and the bright lit stairs except not really bright but it looks that way to the ebony of Sasuke's eyes. So down the stairs and he trips. Trips. Naruto holds him up. Sasuke closes his eyes and feels dragged. Sakura now. _

_Sakura. Ok, they're back in the black and white seizure of the loud living room. Mini-skirt Sakura and pink-blond crop cut. She'd be hot, if Sasuke cared. _

_"Yeah I was just going to leave. Want a ride." It's hidden in the heavy deafening beat of the music. "Yeah. yeah." That's all people ever fucking say. There's a firm hand supporting him across his back, under his arm. _

_They turn. Someone talking. Gaara and his fucking eyes they always fucking stare and Sakura laughs but it sounds weird and she says something about their clothes. Yellow light. Tan of floorboards and doorways into other rooms and it's so loud. Out the fucking door and Naruto smells the same way quiet night smells after the agonizing painful loud throb throb throb of drunken music. It hurts it's so fresh. And Sasuke breathes in deep, the cool nights of slipping summers. _

_In a car. A backseat. Naruto close next to him and a hand over his shoulder and Sasuke's leaning and he can barely breathe he's so drunk. Wonders how much alcohol it takes to mess with instinctive functions like that. _

_------------_

_

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_

haha

Finally, shit's moving along.

--nostratic


	12. Chapter 11

OK, so the placement and ordering of sections in this chapter might be confusing and not necessarily chronological (e.g., start reading). But hang in there! It will make sense eventually. At least, in my delusional perception of the world it does.

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**C H A P T E R E L E V E N**

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_[After-_

_When Sasuke does it, Naruto doesn't notice a thing. He's standing up against him, lips still hot. He seems immune to the utterly demolishing, violent force of Sasuke's realization. Instead, he is staring at him. And he looks strange and unreadable and Sasuke doesn't know what the fuck is going on. Why the fuck is it so dark in here. _

_Someone pushes away, cold now, and the air is no competition for Naruto pressing, breathing against him. _

_Naruto is panting hard and his lips are still fucking wet and fat in the moonlight and he's staring at Sasuke and then he's looking down at his cell, thumbs moving and shaking maybe._

_"Yeah, Sakura? Yeah look, I'm so sorry, but, uh, can you take." Um. "Can you take Sasuke to his apartment." Yeah yeah. "Yeah turns out he shouldn't, um, stay here."_

_When Sasuke was young Itachi smiled at him sometimes. He hates those smiles now because they don't fit anymore. Wrong and wrong and awkward. He can't possibly smile back, though he doesn't know why. Itachi didn't fucking stay either. He didn't stay afterwards. So Sasuke was left. Painful, snagging dregs of a life. With his thumb, Sasuke feels the soft spot of flesh where his ring had been._

_Naruto bends into his cellphone, not looking. "Yeah." Auf Wiedersehen. "Okay, thanks."_

_And then Sasuke's pushed to the door of Naruto's apartment. Not a light on and pushed to the door again. Itachi was coming today, wasn't he. Devastating pain with the idea. His brother. The man he had lived with and known and his face. His fucking face, belonged to Sasuke and he could kill for it and against it because they had the same blood in their veins. The same past. Remember that day? The phone call. Well. Wasn't that horrifying and Sasuke still gasps quietly when he accidently remembers how it happened. Gasp. _

_Outside now. The steps and stairs and the early morning stairwell. Hot hand on his back burning its lingering presence and Sakura is in front of them now in her car. Sasuke is pushed into the passenger seat and he almost fucking trips and he can't really feel anything, but Sakura knows him. She's okay with her thin hands on the wheel and worried stare colorless in the cold early morning. Good bye, Naruto. Door slams and Naruto's fucking eyes. Ha ha, his fucking eyes. Blue as ever, could it even be called blue? Just crystalline fucking brightness and now they're driving away, leaving it behind._

_Sasuke hiccups and he leans his head against the cold window. Driving and Sakura says not a word. Looks right occasionally but not a word and Sasuke frowns. He can hardly think of what's going on. What's going on. He is so inconceivably tired. _

_He doesn't understand and now they're outside his apartment complex and Sakura's helping him as she knows how and the next time he looks around they're in the fucking elevator. Bright as noon in here but Sasuke's looking at the tiles and he's breathing in and out and in and out because he's so fucking drunk. In and out. _

_His door now. A hand present in the sweats he finds himself wearing, not his, grabs the keys and then the door is opened and Sasuke shoves away from her and is deposited. Deposited._

_Once, Itachi walked this room. Itachi. And Sasuke sees the door to his room ajar and it's right in fucking front of him as he walks forward, ghosts of crises past. White paint and lonely apartments and the front door shuts behind him. Sakura leaving. He stumbles forward. Trips on air, but it's more like his muscles don't respond. Don't fucking respond! He's tilting and trips and meets the floor and it should be incredibly hard but he doesn't feel it. Breathless but now the world is flat and dark and his eyes are closed. He dreams of dark in darkness. ]_

_------------_

They were in Sasuke's car, in front of Naruto's building. Sasuke had his hand on the key, which was still in the ignition, and was about to pull it out. Naruto was bouncing his leg up and down. At Gaara's they had gotten into his car in complete silence, and it hadn't been broken in the twenty-four minutes it'd taken to get back to Naruto's part of town.

Sasuke killed the engine and Naruto stopped bouncing his leg. With an obtrusive bustle of movement, Naruto craned around in his seat and reached into the back. When he turned forward he held his hoodie and the bag from the convenience store. "Are you coming up?" he asked, voice cold and hand on the door handle. Sasuke didn't answer; Naruto opened the passenger door anyway. Sasuke decided he was, though, so he undid his seatbelt and pushed open his own door. They stepped out into the heat, which no longer held a post-swim comfort but was starting to feel dry and oppressive once again.

Sasuke had taken the empty parking spot that had been directly in front of the entrance to the stairwell. They crossed onto the curb, Naruto more or less ignoring Sasuke as he punched the entrance code into the grimy and worn keypad by the door. He yanked on the handle and entered the dim interior of the stairwell. Sasuke caught the door before it swung shut and followed. They climbed up the stairs, the walls moving past them in a tight, stifled, spiral. Neither spoke.

Naruto's steps began sounding faster and faster, and Sasuke had the brief sensation that they were going to be stuck in spin mode forever. Like something had gone wrong with the way time passes. Naruto's steps were becoming a sustained pitch of hysteria to his ears.

"Slow the fuck down," Sasuke said. But they'd already reached the landing to Naruto's floor. In front of him, Naruto busted open the door to the hallway so hard that it banged against the wall. "What the hell, moron? Calm the fuck down." He might as well have spoken to the door knob, because Naruto was already storming off down the hallway. He seemed inexplicably furious. He'd been acting like an idiot since Gaara's. Sasuke lengthened his steps, trying to keep up. "What the hell did I do this time?" he asked the back of Naruto's head, his voice growing steadily louder in his frustration. "No I take that back, idiot, I _know_ I didn't do anything. _You're_ the moron that—"

"Shut UP, Sasuke," Naruto bit out, not looking back. He'd reached the door at the end of the hall and was bending over his keys. The door to his apartment opened and he disappeared inside, leaving it ajar. Angry, Sasuke shoved it out of his way and entered Naruto's living room. Said boy was standing with clenched fists on the other side of the couch, scowling at the wall. The sweater and the bag had been deposited on a cushion.

Sasuke stilled and exhaled harshly out of his nose, slightly out of breath. "Are you going to fucking stop acting like a little bitch and tell me what's going on?"

Naruto glared up at him. "Close the door, will you?" he said after a moment. Sasuke snorted and, grabbing the door edge with one hand, slammed it shut behind him. Naruto was flicking his wrist rapidly as it hung at his side, like he was anxious and didn't know quite what to do with his limbs. "Why do you have to make everything so fucking difficult?" he demanded, brows creased as if he were actually accusing Sasuke of some sort of crime.

Sasuke was sure his mouth dropped open a little. "What the hell does that even—you're the problem here, idiot!"

Naruto snapped his head to the side a little, an irritated sort of gesture, and scowled more deeply. "No, shut up for a bit Sasuke," he said, stepping in his direction. He was bouncing on heels slightly, almost as if he were working himself up. "Come over here."

"What? Why? No," Sasuke sneered at him in confusion.

"No just come stand next to the couch." He pointed to a spot on the floor next to the back of the couch, near the end closest to Sasuke. "Just do it. Please."

Sasuke made a sound of frustration and glared off to the side. "Whatever." He moved to where Naruto had indicated, leaning against the back of the couch with his arms propped out at his sides, hands gripping the worn corduroy for support. He stared at Naruto with his brows raised expectantly, an ugly little twist to his lips. "This good?"

Naruto was just looking at him, like was he searching for something. Like the whole idea was simply to see what kind of figure Sasuke cut against his living room. "Fuck it," he said, and the headcase wrist flicking started up again. He crossed the distance between them, until he was standing directly in front of Sasuke, a foot away. "I can't—" he started. He seemed to be struggling with words. "You really can't—"

Sasuke leaned back a little, suddenly finding the room entirely lacking in adequate levels of oxygen. "Back up. What are you doing?" He hated how tight his voice sounded.

It wasn't helped by the fact that Naruto was doing the exact opposite of backing up. He leaned forward until he was supporting himself on the back of the couch as well, his arms inside of Sasuke's. He looked dead serious. "I'm, uh—" His breath was warm. Apparently, he didn't know what he was doing either. His brows furrowed. "Look," he said nervously, awkwardly. "It turns out I should be feeling really fucking lucky today."

"Why?" Sasuke said under his breath, feeling a little unsteady and inching backwards again. "Because you're still alive? 'Cause I'm going to kill you if you don't back up."

"_No_," Naruto said, looking him straight in the eye. "Because right about five this morning, you and me were standing right here. Like this."

Sasuke just stared at him, not really knowing what that was supposed to mean.

"Except," Naruto was saying, sort of chewing his lip and way too fucking close. They were breathing the same goddamn air. Naruto's eyes were quietly running down the lines of his face. "Except we were kind of doing this." Slowly, he pressed his lips to Sasuke's, tilting his head and fitting them just so, so that when he pulled away they seemed to drag something important along with them. A kiss. Sasuke gazed forward blankly, an expression of surprise etched to his face. His train of thought had, quite literally, been atomized and dispersed. No thoughts. Petrifaction.

Naruto was still talking, a whispered kind of monologue directed into his very skin because they were standing so close. "Which is just, you know, crazy, right? Because that's not something you would ever do with me. I mean, we were wasted." He tilted his head the other way and inhaled softly, his nose against Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke could feel him shaking. "So then you show up this morning like nothing and I figure, sure, we don't need to talk about it. Pretend nothing happened, right?" He laughed a little, a quiet exhalation of air through his nose. After a moment he continued: "But _then_ I figure out that you don't remember jack shit." He leaned back slightly so that he could meet Sasuke's eyes. He was frowning. "Which is why I should have been feeling lucky as hell today, and I did at first, but after a while I was sort of just thinking that you're an asshole." Sasuke, still in a state of unresponsive shock, was at least able to open his mouth at the comment but Naruto cut him off before he could respond. "I mean, I guess it's not really your fault or anything. But what I'm trying to say is that I _should_ be feeling lucky. I really should. But I don't feel lucky at all. I feel like complete shit."

Sasuke just stared in silence, it not occurring to him that perhaps Naruto was waiting for him to say something. The seconds dragged on. He stared so long, in fact, that eventually Naruto's eyes went sort of quiet and he pushed off the couch, taking a step or two back. "Right," he said. The nervousness seemed to have returned in full force, and there was something funny going on with his eyes. "Well. I'll just go get dressed." He was looking anywhere but at Sasuke. Finally, he said: "I'm sorry for acting like such a dick today. That's really all I wanted to say." His voice was wrong. He turned around and walked stiffly away.

Sasuke realized a short while later that his grip on the couch was too tight. Also, that Naruto had left the room. Peeling himself off it, he stared at the hallway down which he'd disappeared. He might've stood there for a whole minute, stock-still and alone in Naruto's living room.

But then Sasuke Uchiha began to move. He crossed the room, strode down the length of the dimly lit hallway, and, upon reaching the door to Naruto's bedroom, kicked it open. And when Naruto turned around, wearing no shirt, black dress pants, and an odd mixture of surprise and wariness, Sasuke Uchiha socked him square on the jaw.

Naruto stumbled back, a hand cradling his face. "What the fuck?" he yelled, his voice muffled. Glaring at Sasuke in utter rage, he swung his arm and threw a punch right back, but Sasuke blocked it. Naruto paused for a second, but then used his other arm to sucker-punch Sasuke in the stomach. Sasuke doubled over, wheezing. Hangovers were so _not_ a good time to be punched in the stomach.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything, moron?" he yelled, though it came out like a groan. He threw himself forward suddenly and, gripping Naruto by the shoulders, tackled him to the ground.

"Ow! Fuck! Sasuke you bastard, get the fuck off!"

Sasuke shook Naruto by the shoulders so that his head banged repeatedly into the floorboards. "You think I didn't have a right to know? Or that I wasn't going to find out eventually? You're such a goddamn moron!"

"Fuck it, Sasuke, stop!" Naruto attempted to throw Sasuke off but Sasuke had gone temporarily deaf.

"You fucking _asshole_, you let me walk around the whole day with you without telling me? You just—you spent that _whole_ time—" Sasuke froze, eyes wide. He shook Naruto once more for good measure. "Oh fuck, does _Sakura_ know?" He stared down at Naruto, the fingers digging into the bare shoulders demanding an answer.

"Uh…" Naruto looked up at him, lost for words.

Sasuke growled. "You _fucking_—you told her but you couldn't tell me? Fuck you! I bet Tsunade knows too, that crazy fucking bitch. Did you just go around telling everyone, you fuck?" Naruto's expression had grown rather furious.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Sasuke-bastard. I didn't tell anybody _shit_. I mean, Sakura practically already figured it out on her own. She was the one who gave you a ride home, asshole, so don't go around accusing me of shit I didn't do!"

"I'll accuse you of whatever I want, idiot!"

"Fine! Fine, accuse away, I don't give a shit!" Naruto struggled, but Sasuke held him down. "Because apparently that's all that fucking matters to you, isn't it, that nobody finds out that you're gay? Get the fuck over yourself, you dick." He grunted and tried to shove Sasuke off again.

Sasuke scowled and stared intently at Naruto's face, like he was trying to think. "What are you trying to say?" he asked, holding Naruto down by the arms. "We were drunk. It's not like—it didn't mean anything."

"Well, I guess not, right?"

Sasuke didn't like that tone of voice. Like Naruto was about to break or something. "What?" he asked lamely.

"And I guess everything I said in the living room was just total bullcrap. And the fact that I fucking _kissed _you—" His voice broke oddly at the word, and then he was looking off over Sasuke's shoulder, his expression doing things to Sasuke that he didn't think were possible. "I guess that was just a goddamn figment of your imagination, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke was frowning deeply. "I—"

"Just get off, Sasuke, there's something fucking stabbing into my spine," Naruto muttered, refusing to meet the other boy's gaze. He reached an arm under himself (at the movement, Sasuke had let go of it as if in shock) and dragged out a pair of black sweatpants, arching his back so that it would come free. They were Gaara's, the ones Naruto had been wearing that morning. Sasuke watched as Naruto, as well as he could at the awkward angle, patted down the cloth with one hand for the intrusive object in question. "What the fuck…" Naruto murmured, closing his fingers around a hard lump. He felt around for the pocket opening and, reaching in, pulled out whatever it was.

_It_ was a ring.

A silver, heavy-looking ring with a broad face embedded with rubies and white sapphires in the shape of the Uchiha emblem.

Silence.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "That's my ring," he said, almost breathlessly. He reached out and took it from Naruto's hand, feeling the familiar cool weight of it and running his fingers over the ridges of the gemstones. His ring. They had found it. Naruto watched him in utter silence. "Naruto," Sasuke said after a long while, not looking at the boy's face but down at his ring, as if he couldn't take his eyes off it just yet. "Why was my ring in the pocket of these pants?"

Naruto's eyes were flitting back and forth between his. "I don't know," he said slowly.

Sasuke lifted his brows at the response. "Don't fucking lie to me."

"I'm not lying. How should I know what it was doing there?"

Sasuke propped an arm on the floor by Naruto's head so that he was leaning over him and staring him down with flint-hard eyes. The beginnings of a sneer. "So, despite the fact that you were walking around in those pants half the morning, you can't explain how the ring miraculously appeared in your pocket? You just—never noticed it?" The words were bit out one by one. Carefully chosen, because Sasuke expected a _very_ careful answer.

Quietly but calmly, Naruto said, "I expect you to trust me when I tell you I'm not lying. Why the hell would I lie about this? I just spent the entire day looking for it with you, asshole. It's not like I had some evil manipulative plot or something, if that's what you're thinking."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, analyzing every inch of Naruto's face. Naruto didn't flinch.

Sasuke let his gaze pull away, flicking it down to his ring again. With a frown, he turned it over and over in his fingers.

So he'd lied when he'd told Naruto that he didn't care about the ring; it was really something to—he didn't know. Look at. Touch. Not to mention that it'd been his father's. In fact, if truth be told, he couldn't have cared less about Itachi's reaction. _He'd_ wanted the ring back.

In a silence that seemed to stretch on and on, Sasuke observed the way the light from Naruto's bedroom window played on the stones and caused the silver to gleam. He was trying to think, trying to formulate the right emotions, but it was as if it had all come too late. He was too exhausted, the ground under him had been too mind-numbingly shaken for his anger to not leak out at the seams. After some time, Sasuke spoke again. "That still doesn't explain how the ring got in your pocket," he said, but not nearly with so much danger in his voice. He brought the ring up to his eyes and examined it under the afternoon sunlight.

"Like I said, Sasuke. I don't know," Naruto said from underneath him. Sasuke's gaze traveled slowly down to Naruto's face—and stayed there. When the seconds began to drag on and out to uncomfortable lengths, measured by the rate of Sasuke's breaths and the growing incoherency of his thoughts, Sasuke realized that what had ensued was the definition of an awkward silence.

But something in Naruto's expression prevented him from looking away, maybe passing off the tension as anger, getting up and backing off with a nonchalant glance at the far wall or the window and a sarcastic comment. He didn't do any of that. Instead, he kept his eyes on Naruto's and on the way Naruto absently wet his lips before bringing a hand up to prop it under his head, saying, "Maybe _you_ put it in my pocket, and you just don't remember."

Sasuke arched his brows slightly. "Why would I do that?" he asked, finding it difficult to speak. It came out like a whisper. His breaths were coming at irregular intervals, shaky and moist.

Naruto seemed to shrug with his mouth. He looked off to the side, as if in slow motion. "Beats me."

Sasuke stared at Naruto for some time, feeling the rise and fall of his chest and the way his hip bone kind of jutted out. He looked at his hand. Slipping his ring on, he spread his fingers and watched it glint against his skin with much deliberation. They'd…found it. There was an odd light feeling working its way up his throat, a nervous almost-laughter.

Avoiding Naruto's eyes, Sasuke lowered himself to his elbows. Careful, slow, and deliberate, like there was a step-by-step to human contact he was supposed to be following, he rested his forearms on the floor on each side of Naruto's head. The rustle of their clothing was the only sound in the quiet room. Every single one of Sasuke's nerve cells seemed to be whirring and on edge. He met Naruto's gaze.

After a while during which Sasuke was very much aware of himself and the alarmingly rapidity of his heartbeat, he could no longer deal with the silence. "What are we doing?" he asked quietly, voice a little hoarse.

Naruto bit his lip and let his brows lift as if he were contemplating the question. "Well," he said. "As of last night, nothing new." He regarded Sasuke for a while, eyes thoughtful. "You see," he said suddenly, and he was speaking much more quietly now, "this has all already happened before. You weren't supposed to forget. I was just…fixing that."

Not really listening, Sasuke slowly lowered his head, until he was practically touching his nose to Naruto's skin. "I see," he said.

Naruto remained thoughtful. "Or even if you were supposed to forget. I don't care."

Sasuke murmured something unintelligible. Naruto's body was warm under his. He felt a strange thrill in the vicinity of his lungs. It was almost like happiness. He felt like, in these seconds ticking by, he didn't know quite who he was.

"Everything always happens backwards with us, doesn't it?" Naruto asked in a whisper, grinning.

Sasuke let his head sink lower. Their lips were practically touching. He thought he could feel a pulse. "Hn," he said. "Shut up, Naruto."

"Okay."

They kissed. It was soft and hard at the same time, slow and drawn out, and warm. A little messy. Sasuke could feel himself shaking. Jawbones and the moist heat of mouths, and the way their noses aligned. The way Naruto's lips moved against his. Sasuke found himself inhaling harshly, and gripping Naruto by the back of the head. Naruto bit his lower lip lightly, then pulled away to look at him. They were both breathing somewhat heavily. After a few seconds, Sasuke bent his head down to kiss him again, once, twice, and at a different angle. These were shorter, but lingering. He drew back, simply breathing everything in and feeling Naruto's hair under his fingers. He couldn't quite believe it. This moment.

Naruto was staring at him, lips parted, eyes practically glittering. After about five seconds of it Sasuke grew annoyed.

"What?" he asked.

Naruto's lip twitched like he was about to start laughing. "I'm glad you found your ring," he said.

Sasuke didn't answer at first, finding this new proximity, the warmth of Naruto's breath, rather an impediment to proper mental processes. After a while, though, feeling the ring cold and heavy on his finger he murmured, "Me too." He was looking at Naruto with wary, cautious eyes, gaze flickering back and forth like he was struggling through the seconds and couldn't breathe quite right. He lowered his head until his lips hovered just above Naruto's, just holding himself there for a few moments. New ground. One last vestige of a kiss. In and out of breaths.

He pushed himself off the floor and stood up. His heart was thrumming drum beats against his chest.

"Get dressed," he said. "You're making us late, and we still need stop by my apartment."

Naruto observed him from where he was still sprawled on the floor. His gaze drifted away thoughtfully and he stretched out, bringing his hands together above his head. Still shirtless and probably completely aware of it, the moron. He relaxed with a tentative smile, regarding Sasuke with eyes that held all sorts of words and grins and quiet moments. Maybe it was a trick of the light. "You're valedictorian. Show can't go on without you."

Sasuke rotated his ring around his finger with his thumb, anxious now, maybe just a little afraid, and struggling against the strong and abrupt desire to just run and run and not stop running until the burn in his lungs killed whatever it was he was feeling. How could Naruto be so calm? Sasuke underwent a sudden, searing sensation of inadequacy. Not that Naruto need ever know. "Hn." He turned around and headed to the door.

Behind him Naruto cussed under his breath and clambered to his feet. "Alright. Geez. I'm getting dressed."

Sasuke left the room. Two minutes later, when Naruto emerged from his room fully clothed and with a searching sort of look on his face, Sasuke said not a word but led the way to his car.

_[Before-_

_They stop and there's a building. Stop on the sidewalk and Naruto pulls Sasuke out of Sakura's car. "You're so fucking drunk Sasuke..." and the words blur and Sasuke tries hard to find what they're supposed to mean. He's drunk. He's drunk? No, but his hair is wet from Gaara's. Cold against the night. _

_Door and dark musty steps and Sasuke remembers. Two seconds ago: "Just fucking sleep at my place, dude. Too fucking drunk to be on your own." Or something like that. Dark stairwells, ghosts of lonely apartment buildings. _

_And Sasuke wonders what he's doing he's climbing steps and steps and he knows Naruto's right fucking next to him. He's next to him. They're in the stairwell. Breathe in and out. Sort of laughing. Light in the hallway at least, door near the end and they stumble and it's there now and Naruto shoves the key in. Stumble. Sasuke's always stumbling everywhere, he thinks. The living room. Naruto is warm and supporting and Sasuke breathes in the air easy like it's home. Naruto next to him and his fingers are digging into his side hot and there. They go in, limbs clinging on limbs. Drunk. Standing so close. The door slams shut. _

_Sasuke realizes he doesn't want to let go._

_Someone gasps and the air turns jaw-clenching, freezing tense, something changing, and suddenly Sasuke finds himself up against the couch. Against the back and leaning and Naruto is looking at him so close, so fucking close. Sasuke doesn't know who pushed who or how they ended up like this. All he can feel is Naruto. Warm limbs and hot breath. A hand on his cheek and in his hair. So Sasuke tilts forward and kisses him. Drunken air and blind almost, lips brush so warm they burn, and now he's pressing in and breathing hard because suddenly there's not enough fucking oxygen in the world. He presses in and it's wet and hard and unbelievable and very there. It's there. Physical fucking lips on Sasuke's and they're Naruto's so he almost gasps with it. Breathing so fucking loud and his arms are on a neck, gripping tight. Gripping tight. Silent apartment except for two boys kissing by the couch, heads tilting. Hips press tight and it's fucking tense too fucking tense because Sasuke's supposed to be too drunk to feel this. Naruto. _

_So they're breathing each other in like desperate crazy ward D patients and hands skim down ribs through the soft of shirts. Sasuke doesn't know how he got here, what he was doing just three minutes ago, or anything except for Naruto. Pale hand trail down backsides and he's grabbing Naruto close and hot. Uh. He breathes in loud and sudden when he feels it. Fucking uh. He almost smirks with the feeling. _

_Naruto pulls back suddenly and he's staring. Wide blue fucking eyes staring. Sasuke will always see the sky as the voice of reason from now on._

_"Sasuke..." and the voice trails off, if it was even there. _

_What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck Sasuke is panicking and his brain is spiraling off and he's gripping Naruto tighter because he cares. He cares so much and it hits him, it all makes sense. This is what matters. Head shoved over a shoulder, breathing in hair. _

_This is what matters. So Sasuke Uchiha quietly and with control not expected of his drunken state, slips off his ring and drops it into Naruto's pocket. Because it belongs there, even if the other doesn't know it yet. _

_Important to me, he thinks. That's okay. And also: I live. _

_Naruto doesn't notice a thing. ]_

_-------------_

* * *

Yay circular plot structure lulz

TBC

Why? Itachi. Hell yes. (btw ch.477 of the manga, what the_ fuck_? Please let it be true)

side note: I, as of yet, have not finished writing the next chapter. In the immediate future, updates won't come as frequently as they have been the past week or so. In the meantime, Happy New Years.

--nostratic


	13. Chapter 12

.

* * *

**C H A P T E R T W E L V E**

* * *

"Sasuke, you bastard! Slow down!"

Naruto was three steps behind him, awkwardly pulling his graduation gown over his head and tripping over his feet in the process.

Sasuke held his cap in one hand, his speech in the other. The golden tassel swung frantically to and fro as he strode across the abandoned school quad in the direction of the gymnasium, where the students were supposed to assemble before filing out to the football field for the ceremony. The sun was low in the sky and the school felt strangely lonesome. Mainly because they were ten minutes late. He ignored Naruto, who apparently had finally succeeded in getting his robe on the right way and was now jogging along, trying to catch up.

"Sasuke! Fuck!"

At his apartment Sasuke had attempted to sit Naruto down on his living room couch with a muttered 'stay there' and minimal eye contact so that he could go to the restroom and somehow restore order to his hair, not to mention change into formal clothes. Of course, Naruto had decided that he really had no reason to listen to anything Sasuke told him, ever. So two minutes later Sasuke had found himself pressed up against his bathroom wall with the towel rack jabbing into his shoulder, quite shirtless, and involved in a strange sort of scuffle in which he was not quite sure whether he was kissing Naruto back or pushing him away. A few angry grunts later he'd shoved past the other boy and left the bathroom to make his unsteady way down the hall to his room, breathing harshly and ignoring the distinct feeling of successful escape. He'd reasoned with himself that Naruto was an idiot for thinking he would suddenly want to be jumped every five minutes; not to mention they were running _late_—

He'd paused after realizing that Naruto had followed him into his room and now hosted a mix of anger and hurt on his face. Standing there like Sasuke had done something wrong to him, when all he'd wanted was space to breathe. Sasuke had also tried to ignore the fact that 'space to breathe' had quickly come to mean 'space away from Naruto.' He'd told Naruto to get out, he needed to dress. The moron had responded with an inane, "It's nothing I haven't seen before," followed by "Tell me you're not freaking out on me. You're such an idiot," or something along those lines; Sasuke hadn't felt the need to afford him too much attention because, obviously, Naruto never actually knew what he was talking about. He'd shucked his pants off in defiance, turning towards his closet before Naruto had even finished his little rant. When a rough hand on his shoulder whipped him around and pushed him up against his closet door, a pair of angry lips crashing against his own, Sasuke had, for a brief moment, forgotten all about the stormy little box his moods and his rationalizations and his endless anxiety were stored in, and kissed back. But then he'd remembered, and he'd realized that it was his mouth panting into Naruto's, his bedroom they were in, and he'd shoved Naruto off. Only to be faced with averted eyes and a half-hidden emotion that'd made Sasuke order him out so he could just get _dressed_, moron, with much less curtness than he would have otherwise employed. Later, alone in his room, he'd had trouble doing up the buttons on his white dress shirt because of how badly his hands had been shaking.

They'd pulled up to the school six minutes late. Sasuke had driven too much like a madman and Naruto had been much too preoccupied trying to rip the clear wrapping off his graduation gown for either to say much of anything. An awkwardness lurked in the silence between them, broken only by the crackle of plastic.

About halfway there, Naruto had remarked that they'd forgotten Gaara's clothes again. Sasuke had ignored him.

Once at the school Sasuke had immediately thrown open his door, stepped out, and slammed it behind him without waiting to see if Naruto was doing likewise.

Now he was stalking swiftly across the quad, and suddenly feeling that if he could just reach the double doors to the gym before Naruto caught up, he'd be safe. He felt like they'd been stumbling around each other like drunks since Naruto had kissed him in his living room, meeting up in messy lip-to-lip encounters without much intelligible communication at all, and Sasuke was starting to panic. He felt like if he didn't slow down, face Naruto, and just _breathe_ he would explode, but at the same time he was terrified of doing exactly that.

"Sasuke! Wait!"

He wasn't sure, but he didn't think he _wanted_ to.

The doors were just ahead. Sasuke reached forward and, not caring that his speech was being crumpled under his palm, pushed them open.

Thinking back, it was quite the dramatic entrance. The gym floor was stock-full of students dressed in identical maroon gowns, ready and lined up by seating order for the ceremony, all chatting and laughing and creating the other indefinable white noises that constitute the dull roar of a crowd. The noise died off impressively when the gym doors banged open and Sasuke streamed in, his gown billowing about his legs and arms, a grim expression settled about his lips. He'd managed to make his hair perfect again, of course. His valedictorian medal and his white _summa cum laude_ chord swayed against the front of his gown in time with his purposeful strides towards the center of the gym floor where a number of counselors and teachers stood in a group. He ignored the stares around him. But then someone pulled harshly at his elbow. Finally—_finally_—he stopped and whipped around.

Naruto was standing before him, angry and with eyes that screamed all sorts of things, though Sasuke doubted that anyone but him would know just what. Neither said anything. Sasuke exhaled harshly, glancing sideways at the row of students immediately next to them. Their faces were curious and watchful. He shifted his weight and let his gaze flick back towards Naruto, who had seemed to notice the audience as well. After a moment, Naruto nodded tersely: _Later_. His face was set not in concession but in the stiffness of restraint. He paused and started hesitantly as if had something to say (maybe he'll punch me again; maybe he'll kiss me in front of everyone because he's the type to do something stupid like that) but then Naruto had turned and was walking back through the rows, steps rigid, shoulders drawn. He disappeared moments later into the crowd towards, Sasuke presumed, his assigned position.

The noise was slowly picking up again, and Sasuke had other things to think about, so with a scowl at the few spectators still staring at him with an inordinate amount of interest he veered around and resumed his course towards the center of the floor.

A few of the faculty members glanced up as he approached, and one even pointed; their expressions seemed to relax in unison at his arrival. Among them was Kakashi, head of the Science Department, looking uncommonly somber in a black faculty gown. But his hair was as unruly as ever and his single visible eye as infernally amused. Sasuke came to a stop as soon as he reached the group, quietly realizing that he was out of breath and that he needed to pull himself together. He nodded curtly at Shikamaru, who'd ended up salutatorian despite his extraordinary lack of effort and was thus also required to be present at this pre-ceremony meeting. Shikamaru nodded back, an expression of vast disinterest on his face. Sasuke glanced around at the faculty present and at the other students that were going to be speaking for some reason or other, and was wondering whether he wasn't really all that late after all when Kakashi chose to address him.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke," he said in that lazy drawl of his. "Glad you could make it."

Sasuke didn't answer immediately. He narrowed his eyes and shifted his weight, noticing with some relief that nobody seemed to be paying them much attention. Finally, he said, "Sorry I'm late." Out of the goodness of his soul, he decided not mention Kakashi's own track record with timeliness.

Kakashi was dismissing his apology with a wave of his hand, apparently all smiles under his mask. "Understandable. Completely fine. I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason." Kakashi had the bad habit of saying things in a way that made Sasuke unsure as to whether he was being sarcastic, uncannily insightful, omniscient in a scary sort of way, or just disgustingly cheerful.

So Sasuke simply looked around somewhat nervously, and declined to dignify Kakashi's idiocy with a response. Anko Mitarashi, counselor to students with last names F through M and co-organizer of the ceremony, decided this was the prime time to approach him.

"Here is the script for the ceremony," she said, shoving a packet of neatly stapled papers into his hands, then handing out copies to the other students present in a similarly rough manner. "Miss Tang, as Class President you will speak first, once the processional and the Flag Ceremony are completed. You—whatsyourface—Mr. ASB President here will then read the Introduction of Tradition. Mr. Nara you will speak after the principal finishes recognizing the students with honors. Your cue will be when he directs the summa cum laude students to stand. You will approach the stage from the right side. And the end of your speech introduce Mr. Lee here as ASB Vice President. Mr. Lee, you will narrate the Candle Rose Ceremony. And if you deviate from your given speech by just _one_ word, idiot boy, or start _crying_, so help me—" At this point one of the present faculty members shifted his feet and coughed awkwardly. Anko seemed to swallow her threat with a grimace like she was swallowing nails instead and turned on Sasuke. "Once the principal rises to introduce you as valedictorian, you will approach the stage, Mr. Uchiha. That will be your cue." Sasuke glanced at his paper and nodded. Anko continued barking off the steps to the ceremony in military fashion, fighting to be heard over all the noise in the gym, though it was apparent that she wanted nothing more than for the whole ordeal to be over. (It was, after all, common knowledge that was she was only a high school counselor because it was an ideal position in which to exercise her sadistic tendencies.)

Once they were all briefed, the students present were directed to their respective positions at the heads of specific lines. Sasuke turned to leave, gazing down at the ceremony script in his hand and for the first time that day shouldering the full weight of his situation; in less than an hour, he would be delivering a speech before seven thousand people. It wasn't so much nerves that settled in the pit of stomach, but a numbness. It was uncomfortable.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. He looked behind him (people _really_ need to stop doing that—) and frowned when he saw that it was Kakashi. His physics teacher was no longer smiling amicably, and seemed to be waiting for the others to disperse. Shikamaru was glancing at them with a little more than his usual show of interest. He lifted a brow at Sasuke's stare and strolled lankily away. Sasuke turned and faced Kakashi, who was now displaying an unnerving lack of emotion.

"So," said Kakashi. "Itachi will be attending the ceremony." It wasn't a question; during one of their odd impromptu talk-sessions that Kakashi always managed to initiate in new sneaky ways—and that often left Sasuke stopping suddenly and hissing a curse half an hour later when he realized that damn it, Kakashi had done it _again_—he'd somehow tricked Sasuke into grudgingly admitting that yes, Itachi would be attending the ceremony, and yes, he would be seeing Itachi for the first time in years, and yes, he was still angry about the accident—

"In fact, Itachi is probably in the stands right now, waiting for the ceremony to start," Kakashi was saying. His one visible eye was open and looking at Sasuke; it was a calm sort of gaze, but Sasuke knew that he was being analyzed and dissected from the inside out. He'd seen Kakashi at work before.

"Yes," he said. He wouldn't play into Kakashi's hands. He didn't need his fucking condescension or concern.

He didn't need _any_ help to deal with the utterly obvious fact that Itachi was at this moment in time outside in the stands, thank you. Sasuke wondered if he would be irritated at having had to make the plane trip, take a cab to Sasuke's school, wait in line for the little gray ticket booth, move past busty mothers and younger cousins and older relatives chatting loudly in the coarse notes of different languages, past friends and old teachers of people he didn't know and likely didn't care to know. If he'd be irritated at having had to take a seat on a filthy, rickety metal stand amidst hundreds of other people with their home-made signs and balloons and shrill voices, just to wait for the graduates to show up. Sasuke knew Itachi would think it was pathetic.

Kakashi was humming under his breath, staring at Sasuke like he'd found whatever it was he'd been looking for. He smiled in that annoying way of his and reached out to ruffle Sasuke's hair.

"Seems you're getting along just fine," he said, patting him like he would a new puppy. The school valedictorian was _that_ close to assaulting a teacher during graduation—

Only, when Kakashi continued, it was with a serious tone and a level gaze that Sasuke had only ever witnessed a few times before: "I'm proud of you, Sasuke. Congratulations." Sasuke quailed a little under that gaze. Coming from Kakashi, Sasuke had to admit, the words meant more than they otherwise would have. Kakashi leaned in and looked Sasuke straight in the eye. "I think Itachi cares about you more than you think." And with that, he briefly squeezed Sasuke's shoulder and turned away. "Good luck," he said, one hand raised lazily in parting as he walked off to wherever he was supposed to be.

Sasuke fisted the ceremony script in his hand and swiveled in the other direction. Kakashi really needed to just back the fuck off. What the hell did he know?

Except Sasuke wasn't as angry as he would've liked to be. Maybe it was the low-thrumming energy inside the gymnasium, the excitement, the sensation that it was all finally coming to an end, in so many ways. And Itachi was waiting outside, after all.

Sasuke was not nervous, not really. At this point he could only go through the motions.

He found himself at the head of his assigned row, the one comprised of the top students who would be sitting at the front during the ceremony. Sakura was there, about five spots down the line. She was looking straight at him and smiling and Sasuke nodded at her, feeling an odd understanding pass between them because he'd never thought about it before but they really were friends and in this moment he was grateful for it. But then he remembered about Naruto, and about the previous night and he looked away and wondered if he'd ever be quite comfortable around her again. As he stood there scowling at the gym floor the girl directly behind him smiled shyly and congratulated him. He stared at her blankly, for a moment at a loss as to what exactly she was talking about. He realized he didn't know her name, but she clearly knew his.

"Hn," he said. The girl hesitated, and then giggled awkwardly in response, cheeks blotching.

"Uchiha!"

He looked up at Anko's voice; the counselor nodded stiffly at him from across the gym floor and pointed towards the double doors leading out to the fields.

It was time.

* * *

"…but that today is the cusp of all the days that came before it, and the people involved, the goals achieved, the lessons learned, the experiences—good and bad—that made each one of those days special in turn."

Sasuke had no idea what he was saying. He'd crossed the short span of trim grass from his seat on the field and walked up the steps to the platform in a daze, faintly registering the applause at the sound of his name. He stood at the podium and looked out at the neat rows of students in uniform robes, at the goalpost at the end of the field, glowing and distinct in the evening light, at the Honor Guard in white along the sidelines. The sun was setting off streaks of pink and orange in the sky and low clouds hung on the horizon. There was a soft breeze. He paused in the middle of a sentence and for a few seconds simply stood before his audience of seven thousand. He couldn't see Itachi—he'd looked but hadn't been able to find him. Instead his eyes fell on a messy thatch of blond about eight rows back. Swallowing, he looked down and continued to read from his crumpled speech.

He'd written it in a hurry a week earlier during his second period calculus class. The words were tripe by all measures, but he found his hands shaking as he turned the page. Maybe it was the way the trees looked against the setting sun, how the metal stands gleamed gold before the encroaching dusk, the rare coolness in the air. Or maybe it was the fact that Itachi had done this first, when their parents had still been alive, and that he'd envisioned this moment for years.

And now here he was, but there was only Itachi and what the fuck did that mean anymore, anyway? Sasuke wished he knew where the other was sitting. The mass of faces before him seemed to ripple, like a single organism.

The words flowed smoothly from his mouth; he'd practiced. The words flowed out of him and he felt emptier than ever. As he finished, numbly leaving the stage to prolonged applause, he regretted not mentioning anything about friends, or friendship. He didn't know how he had missed that part.

The ceremony seemed to drag on for ages and yet it went by in a blur. Each student's name was called in turn and he or she joined the procession onto the platform to receive their diploma from their counselor and to shake hands with some portly superintendent of whose existence no one had been aware until that moment. Sasuke recognized a good number of names, clapped for none, and realized that everyone he knew in their grade he'd met through Naruto.

His name had been the first to be called. The uproar had been noteworthy and had consisted mostly of shrill feminine squeals, though he'd heard the distinct sounds of a catcall and an Indian whoop through the screams. For that reason alone he'd been smiling when he received his diploma.

When Naruto's name was called the applause was stupefying. It seemed like there was no one among the students who didn't know who he was. A good majority of people in the stands were on their feet. Sasuke did not stand but when Naruto strolled off the stage, diploma in hand and the _biggest_ shit-eating grin on his face, Sasuke looked straight at him. Naruto looked back and for a brief moment, a moment suspended amongst all the shouting and the clapping and the cheers, the grin turned into something more real and entirely for Sasuke. Then Naruto pumped his fist in the air, let out another Indian whoop, and danced down the aisle back to his seat, a laughing Kiba hanging off his shoulder.

Then it was over. The principal spoke the closing words, the sun dipped under the horizon, the mass of people in the stands streamed down onto the field to find their graduating sons and daughters and friends—and Sasuke was stranded. The seconds blurred by like the loud crowd around him; none of it was real. He knew what he was waiting for. This was it. Greetings and congratulations and balloons all around him, under the yellow light of the field's lampposts. It was getting dark now.

When the seconds turned into minutes and Itachi still hadn't appeared, Sasuke fought the urge to climb onto the nearest chair like the child he remembered being to look around. It wasn't supposed to be taking so long. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Itachi, informing him in the terse brevity that lends itself to texts that he'd had the taxi wait through the ceremony, that he would meet him at the apartment.

Sasuke put the phone back in his pocket.

"There you are!" Someone slung himself over Sasuke's back and he knew immediately that it was Naruto. He was laughing, seemingly drunk off all the revelry in the wake of the graduation ceremony. Apparently he'd forgotten all his anger The flashes of cameras lit up the grass around them. "I've been looking for you for ages." And then Sasuke was surrounded by all of Naruto's friends: Shikamaru, dog-face Kiba, the fat kid, Lee, Sakura. Ino the Bitch. Even Neji and Hinata were there.

"My fucking heels are sinking into the grass!"

"They said not to wear heels on the turf, stupid!"

"Told you I'd graduate, Shika. Pay up!"

"Hn. You're so troublesome."

"Let's get out of here guys."

"Hey where should we go?"

"Hokage's?"

"Eh? Again? Even Shika thinks the booze there sucks."

"We only go there because Naruto can hook us up. Any suggestions where else we could go, _Kiba_?"

"Ah, screw you Sakura. You just like their bartender."

"What!" Laughter.

"Kiba! Do not tarnish this beautiful night of youth and joy with insults! Do not listen to him Sakura!"

"Thank you."

"Lee, you're such a douche."

"Shutup, Ino-pig. He was defending my honor."

"Pfft."

"Well, me and Shika want to go to Ohana's for barbecue."

"Alright! Chouji knows what's up! Food first! Booze later! Who's in?"

"Not you if don't stop yelling in my ear, Kiba!"

"What!"

"You asshole, I said quit yelling!." More laughter.

"Hinata and I will go."

"Alright, I'm going if Neji's going."

"Fine. If Ino-pig wants to stuff her face I guess I will too."

"Yes! Let's make this a night we will never forget!" Lee punched the air.

And then everyone turned to look at Naruto who was looking, in turn, at the look on Sasuke's face.

"Eh..." He scratched the back of his head and winced at the various questioning gazes. "I kind of already made plans."

Sasuke shifted on his feet. Naruto still had his arm draped over his shoulders. This was exactly why he'd told him to just go with his friends. Naruto was stupid if he thought he was going to be spending grad night away from everyone he cared about. He was being pointless and stupid, yet again. And who the fuck said he could put his arm there?

"What are you talking about? What plans?" Kiba asked. Sakura was looking back and forth between Sasuke and Naruto, chewing her lip. She seemed amused. Sasuke wanted to wipe that look off her face. She didn't know anything.

Naruto shrugged. "Just you know...I'm just going to hang out with Sasuke."

"Sasuke can just come _with_ us!"

"No we're just going to go back to his place..."

"Ah come on, Naruto! What are you playing at? You're just going to go off alone then?"

"_No_. With Sasuke."

"But...it's grad night! What the fuck. Dude."

"Kiba! Leave him alone! If Naruto wants to go hang out with Sasuke, then just let him!"

"Maah. Whatever, Sakura. Let's get out of here, guys."

"I'll make it up to you! We'll do something tomorrow!" Naruto was already steering Sasuke away from the group, waving at Kiba over his shoulder. "Congratulations on graduating! Bye!" He bit his lip, eyes still worried.

"Tch," Sasuke said, and nothing else. He shrugged Naruto's arm off and walked ahead, pushing through the crowd.

"Hey! Bastard!" They were nearing one end of the bleachers. Naruto yanked at Sasuke's arm from behind and pulled him to the side so that they stood under its shadow, in a spot relatively free of screaming younger siblings and grandmothers trying to work digital cameras. Sasuke clenched his fist around his valedictorian medal and glared at the concession windows nearby. They were closed down and dark now that the ceremony had ended. "What's wrong, asshole?"

Sasuke whipped his head up to glare at Naruto. "What are you talking about, moron?" He shrugged Naruto's arm off again.

"Is it Itachi? Did you talk to him? What did he say to you?"

"No I didn't fucking talk to him."

Naruto stared at him, mouth gaping a little. "Isn't he here?" When Sasuke refused to answer he scowled. "Look, just tell me what's wrong, you dick. I can tell something is by just looking at you!"

"Nothing. He took a taxi back. He's waiting for me at the apartment."

"Oh. Okay."

Sasuke snorted.

"Well, let's go then."

Sasuke looked away again, across the field and the people still milling about. The air was much cooler than it had been earlier, bitter with the moist smell of grass. "Fine," he said, shrugging. Naruto looked like he wanted to bring his hand up and hold onto his arm again. "And stop touching me."

Naruto let his arm fall back to his side. "Fuck you," he said evenly.

Sasuke frowned and began walking away. Naruto hesitated, then began to follow a few steps behind.

They made their way through the mass of people; the crowd thinned out until they were past the opposite bleachers and then there was no one around but them. Unspeaking, they padded over the cool grass in the direction of the gymnasium and the empty school. In the falling darkness the buildings took on a watchful quality, ghost town roofs glowing pink under the dying sun. The buildings had stood there for a long time and would likely continue to stand long after Naruto and Sasuke left the grounds for the last time. But now it was summer. The shadows stretched long before them.

"It was a good speech," Naruto said beside him. It wasn't what Sasuke had expected he would say, at that moment.

Naruto had unzipped his graduation gown and stuck his hands in his pockets, the cloth draping behind him like a coat. He looked up at Sasuke, a casual glance that gave and demanded nothing. It was odd, for Naruto. Sasuke remained silent until the other boy looked away, ahead at the empty quad. "I liked it. Didn't sound like you, though."

Sasuke snorted. He wondered what it was about Naruto's tone that made him feel so on edge. If there was anything odd about it. He didn't think there should be, and he used to be able to read Naruto so easily but now everything was different. "You should have gone with your friends," he said.

"Are you still bitching about that?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

"They're your friends too, Sasuke."

Sasuke was quiet so long that the other boy sighed and looked down at his shoes as they walked on towards the parking lot.

"Alright, whatever. You have no friends."

Sasuke didn't think Naruto wore sarcasm well at all, but maybe he just didn't want to contemplate the potential truth of that statement. They crossed through the gate by the library and Sasuke's car came into view.

He made to circle the hood to the driver's seat, but Naruto put a hand on his arm and held him in place.

"Let go of me."

Naruto just stared until Sasuke looked up and met his gaze. He had a strange expression on his face, too thoughtful to be angry but nowhere near calm. "Are you afraid of me touching you?" he asked, and then pulled up a grin that looked all wrong in the shadowed dusk.

"Hn. As if."

"Alright." Naruto kept his hand on Sasuke's arm, tightened his fingers, even. "After Itachi…it doesn't have to be tonight, but maybe tomorrow, we're going to talk."

Sasuke pulled his arm away roughly. "I'm not talking about anything," he said, and almost winced because it came out rushed and little panicked. "There's nothing to talk about." He settled for a sneer. He made for the driver's side again.

"I know you're just going to be an asshole about this, and I don't even care."

Sasuke pulled the door open and glared at Naruto over the roof of the car. Without replying, he got in and slammed the door shut. Naruto stood there and looked at him through the windshield, face blank. After a few seconds, he followed suit.

The car was silent for the duration of the trip.

One morning two years prior, Sasuke had woken to cool cotton sheets and an empty house. It had been that time of the year when early morning sunlight is still surprising after months of long nights. The hallway outside his room had been sleepy and quiet, chilly in the pale yellow light. He'd gone on his toes to the restroom, grateful for the damp warmth still lingering from its recent use. He didn't know where Itachi was but this had been the third morning Itachi had left before Sasuke woke. Sasuke had assumed he was out taking care of all the necessary things, the mundane tasks the living carry out with solemnity as if to atone for all that the dead can no longer do. It was an assumption he did not express; Itachi left the house and Sasuke stayed in his room, alone, and that was that. Itachi would be back by eleven, in any case.

They both knew that Itachi wasn't actually taking care of anything during those stolen mornings, and Sasuke for one hadn't slept well in days.

Their home, however, was one of closed doors and secrets. Always had been. And so Sasuke let them pretend, for his own sake as much as Itachi's. No one wants to be bothered with troubles not their own. No one wants to carry the stain of others' weakness.

After everything was over they'd moved from the house to the apartment, Sasuke left doors open more often, and Itachi no longer disappeared. But no questions were asked. Nothing was said at all, nothing real, not until the day Itachi told Sasuke that he was taking a job in another city. The city wasn't out of state but it was far enough that it could have been on the other side of the country for all that meant to Sasuke. The next week, he'd been gone.

He'd left behind: a phone number, all the furniture and silverware, a grey blazer, an apartment with no memories, and Sasuke with all of his. Many of which featured two parents that had been alive one day but dead the next.

That was the week Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into their biggest fight. Sasuke was normally an aloof and distant individual but he'd found that in the recent aftermaths of a funeral he was not above mauling it out in the school quad. And Naruto always did seem to favor fists to words. It had been only once Sasuke was leaning back in his chair in the local emergency room nursing a broken nose and a few bruised ribs while next to him Naruto let out a constant stream of curses over his sprained wrist that Sasuke had begun to understand that Naruto didn't take well to being pushed away. He thought he could appreciate why.

They'd been suspended. Itachi had been cold and brief and so far away over the phone but Naruto had started each day off from school knocking on the door to Sasuke's apartment. They'd spent those days together. That had been better for Sasuke than he liked to admit. He'd never told Naruto that he'd been planning on leaving that first morning. He supposed it could have been called 'running away'. He'd woken up to an empty apartment again and all the mornings that would be exactly like that one stretched before him, endless and grey and so fucking desolate. At first the only thing stopping him had been the small, nasty voice in the back of his mind telling him that to run away would be pointless because he had no one left to run from, and then it was Naruto's knock at the door—too loud and irritating and so much more real than anything else in Sasuke's life.

They reached Sasuke's apartment complex. He pulled the car into his spot underneath the overhang of the building, hand shaking as he shifted gears to park and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Itachi had probably settled into his old room by now. He'd have found it dusty, the air stale, because Sasuke never went in there if he had a choice. Sasuke didn't _want _to see Itachi, it'd been two years and what right, what fucking right did Itachi have to walk back into his life whenever he felt like it. He was _fine_, he just wanted to forget—everything. It had been easy enough the past few years. He never asked for this, he didn't want it, and Itachi wasn't supposed to be here. He'd made that clear long ago when he left Sasuke so fucking alone only because he was too much of a coward to face him day after day after day after day after what he _did_. That fucking bastard—

There was a hand covering his mouth—his own, he realized—but then a hand on his cheek and Naruto was turning him to meet his eyes, covering his lips with his own and Sasuke was clenching his fist too hard over his keys to even think about pushing him away this time.

"Calm down," Naruto whispered against his mouth, and pulled back. His eyes were a darker blue than usual, the orange streetlamp outside the car the only source of light. He was peering at Sasuke like he'd peer at a cornered animal, or maybe that was only because Sasuke felt as such and was inclined to take all of Naruto's odd looks correspondingly. His face felt frozen, he knew his eyes were wide. He unclenched his fist and flipped his keys around his finger. Let his shoulders fall.

"I'm fine."

Naruto kept staring at him, not acknowledging that he'd said anything. Sasuke let out a quiet breath and turned, exiting the car.

In the elevator Naruto leaned against the wall, legs crossed at the ankles and arms stretched out at his sides to grip the steel bar. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and he wore a leather bracelet on his left wrist. He was looking down at his feet, quiet in a way that Sasuke knew he wanted to say something. The elevator hummed around them. The air was cool, the elevator far too brightly lit.

"Remember the time," Naruto started slowly, when they were somewhere between the third and fourth floors, "we were playing Call of Duty and Itachi came in to tell us the volume was too high but he tripped over the wires—" His breath caught and he started laughing, a quiet laugh that was more like a heaving of the shoulders. "His face—he looked so fucking surprised—and then, and then—" He laughed outright. "And then he was like, fucking, _ow_, and oh my god his _face_." Naruto looked up at Sasuke with a helpless grin. "And he ended up watching us play for the entire afternoon."

Sasuke couldn't help but smile, if not at the memory then at Naruto's expression. "And you kept trying to convince him to give us beer from the fridge."

"Yeah…" Naruto grinned wider and let his head fall back against the elevator wall, chuckling once. "He's always been a stingy bastard. You get it from him, you know."

"Fuck you," Sasuke said, though even he could hear the amusement in his voice. It was awkward, raw and stumbling, but there. The elevator doors opened.

Naruto stepped out. He paused in the hallway and looked back at Sasuke. His expression had turned into the careful sort that Sasuke sneered at on bad days. Far too sympathetic and constructed, maybe because it reminded Sasuke that there was something to be sympathetic about. Today was definitely a bad day but Naruto's mouth was set in half-smile that assumed nothing, forced nothing, told Sasuke that things became simple as soon as he wanted them to be. The doors began closing and Sasuke left the elevator.

They walked down the hallway, side by side. Sasuke dragged his eyes along the uninspired carpet pattern and struggled with a sudden urge to apologize. His breathing was growing shaky. They reached his apartment number more quickly than Sasuke would have liked. He froze before the door. He couldn't take his eyes off it, the pale blue paint, the tarnished brass numbers nailed above the peephole.

"Hey—"

He snapped his eyes up at Naruto, whose eyebrows drew in. A hand lifted, found its way to Sasuke's hair, and Naruto was leaning in and speaking into his ear.

"Just open the door, Sasuke."

Sasuke took out his keys.

* * *

AN: hopefully i'll be finishing this fic within the week.

-nostratic


	14. Chapter 13

Let's just pretend it hasn't taken me a full year to update this. My apologies.

* * *

**C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N**

* * *

The door opened before Sasuke had a chance to fit the key into the lock. He felt himself look up and if it wasn't the strangest sensation, seeing and not feeling a thing, at last. Beside him Naruto dropped his hand. Silence, and then—

"Little brother."

Itachi had always looked so much like their mother. Sasuke pushed his hands into the pockets of his slacks to stop the shaking and didn't reply.

Itachi was looking at him, face as completely blank and unreadable as Sasuke remembered. Sasuke realized on the spot that two years can be a very long time. The coal-black eyes left him and traveled over to Naruto. Expressionless.

"Naruto's staying over tonight," Sasuke said, suddenly feeling as if he were being demanded an explanation for daring to stand in the hallway, breathing, with Naruto next to him.

Itachi nodded and there was something like a smile quirking his lips. "Of course," he said, and stood back to let them pass through the door. "Welcome, as always, Naruto."

Naruto laughed awkwardly and rubbed his neck. "Hey, Itachi," he said, and passed through first. Sasuke made to follow, his thoughts a meaningless buzz in his head. It was going to be a long night.

Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's arm.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at the hand, then at Itachi's eyes. Their mother's eyes. Itachi was staring him down, looking right into his face. He seemed worn.

"It's good to see you," he said.

Sasuke didn't reply. He looked past Itachi into the living room and saw that Naruto had made himself comfortable on the couch. He shrugged his brother's hand off and walked in. He wasn't about to make things easy. Not now.

Naruto was leaning forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped loosely together. When Sasuke neared he glanced up.

Itachi closed the door. Slow footsteps and then he was standing next to the coffee table. He was dressed smartly, in slacks and a button-up. He could have very well gone to work that day and taken a late flight out. In fact, Sasuke realized, he'd probably done just that.

No one spoke. Itachi had his hands in his pockets. On the couch Naruto sat up, rested an elbow over the back of the couch, and cleared his throat.

"You're both looking well," Itachi said, finally.

No one answered, until Sasuke managed a "Hn."

Itachi had always been difficult to read. He'd kept his hair long, Sasuke noticed. It was tied back, a few strands loose about his face. He was looking at Sasuke impassively. His eyes turned to Naruto.

"Are you thirsty, Naruto?"

Naruto drew in a breath and opened his mouth but Sasuke cut him off.

"If he is, he doesn't need your permission. He knows he can get whatever he wants." Naruto still had his mouth half-gaped but he clicked it shut and swung his eyes over to Itachi.

Itachi stared at Sasuke for a long moment. Then he smiled, a wry little smirk. "I suppose that's true," he said. "You probably know better than I do what Sasuke has in the kitchen." He lifted his brows at Naruto, a pleasantly blank expression on his face.

Naruto cleared his throat again, and fidgeted. Then he grinned, which Sasuke ignored because he knew the differences between Naruto's grins. "I guess maybe I do."

"Well," Itachi said in the same tone of voice, bowing his head a little. He turned and stepped around the coffee table, taking a seat in the armchair opposite the sofa on which Naruto and Sasuke sat. "I suppose you'll have no trouble helping yourself."

"Uh," Naruto said. "Yeah. Thanks."

Itachi simply gazed at him. Then he looked at Sasuke, who was still scowling by the couch. "So," he said simply.

What a bastard.

Sasuke refused to play nice. He didn't answer.

"Have you two eaten?

Naruto shook his head. "I'm freaking starving."

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke shoved his hands in his pocket again and looked towards the window. It was pitch black outside. He could feel Itachi's eyes like strings pulling him back (Look at me—_look at me!). _His jaw clenched.

"I ordered some take out. You had a flier on the fridge."

"Oh, cool," Naruto said. "House of Chen?"

"Yes. Sasuke?"

"Whatever," Sasuke said, and got up from the couch. He went to stand by the window and look out, but his eyes seemed unable to focus. There were eyes on his hunched back. He spun around, suddenly. "I…" he said, but he had no idea where the sentence was going. "What time did you get in today?"

Itachi searched his face. "Around four," he replied after a moment.

"Were you even at the ceremony?"

Itachi raised his brows and laughed, a little. "Of course I was there."

"I didn't see you. I looked."

Itachi didn't answer, but he didn't take his eyes off Sasuke either. Naruto cleared his throat.

"How long are you staying?" Sasuke asked the floorboards after a moment. He looked out the viewless window again to let Itachi know that he didn't care one way or the other.

"I'm leaving tomorrow night. We're in the middle of negotiations with a client. It's really a bad time to take a few days off."

Sasuke nodded absently at the windowpane. The corner of his mouth curled. "Of course."

"Sasuke."

"Sorry I'm such a massive inconvenience."

Itachi sighed. "Your maturity astounds me, as usual."

Sasuke inhaled sharply.

"So…" Naruto said. Sasuke glanced at him. He was sitting legs spread, arms behind his head like he didn't have a worry in the world. Only his eyes seemed taut, his grin a little more jagged than normal. "It sounds like you have a lot of free time."

Sasuke felt an inexplicable urge to laugh, but settled for, "Idiot."

Itachi was smiling blandly at Naruto, like he didn't know what to make of him.

"Have a girlfriend yet, then?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke did laugh this time, a muffled snort that he didn't regret at all. Itachi's expression was too impassive to be real.

"No one?" Naruto said, sitting forward like he just couldn't _believe_—"Come on, Itachi. Spill the beans!"

Itachi seemed unimpressed. "No. I'm not in a relationship at the moment." He looked at Sasuke and if he were any less uptight and perfectly tailored, Sasuke thought, he'd be pulling an expression translating to "Curb your dog."

Sasuke smirked and leaned against the wall. "I don't know why you're surprised, Naruto. Itachi has this massive stick shoved up his ass. The doctors couldn't do anything about it."

"Oh come on," Naruto said, threading a hand through his hair and pushing it out of his face. "I bet even Itachi needs somebody to love. A warm body to hold at night. Don't you Itachi?" The shit-eating grin on his face was the size of Kansas.

"Unfortunately," Itachi said, like the word had a bad aftertaste, "I'm finding myself in the situation where I actually need to work for a living. I don't have the time, or the interest."

"Hey," Naruto frowned. "I work. A lot, actually."

Sasuke stared at his profile. Across the room Itachi seemed amused, as if this moment was just too precious. "Well," he said, "then the obvious question is, do you have a girlfriend, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up, and if that wasn't a flicker of confusion in his eyes-"Uh."

"Of course he doesn't," Sasuke said. Naruto turned to him, face unreadable. Sasuke let the silence in the room trickle off him, meeting Naruto's look straight on. "Naruto is far too _busy_."

He was thinking of lips on lips and rings that didn't mean anything in the end. Naruto opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

The doorbell rang.

"That would be the kung pao," Itachi said, to a complete lack of response. He stood.

Sasuke watched him move down the hall. He flicked his eyes back down to Naruto once the door was open and remained in his spot against the wall, relaxed into it. Naruto's eyes were still on him and Sasuke would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy that. "What?" he said, voice low and thick and taunting.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Naruto asked, tired in the way of someone who's learned not to be surprised anymore.

"Why," Sasuke said, and pushed off the wall to approach Naruto on the couch, lifting a thumb to press into the other boy's lips, "the fuck would I do that?" He lowered the hand, dragging pink flesh with it, and continued into the kitchen.

"I don't know," Naruto said behind him. He'd gotten up to follow Sasuke and was whispering. "Maybe because he's going to find out eventually?"

Sasuke paused with his hand on the fridge handle, about to open it, and turned his head to stare at Naruto.

"You're implying," he said slowly, carefully, rolling the words around his tongue, "that this is going to last."

Naruto opened his mouth but at that moment Itachi entered the kitchen laden with bags of take-out. He looked at them both and set the bags on the table. "I don't believe we'll need plates," he said.

Sasuke turned back to the fridge and tried to remember what he'd opened it for. Behind him, Naruto sat at the table and fished through a bag for chopsticks.

Sasuke grabbed a bottle of water and slammed the door shut. He snapped the bottle open, leaning against the fridge and looking at Naruto attend to a steaming box of take-out.

Itachi had taken a seat. At his father's usual place. Sasuke looked at the empty chair to Itachi's right—four chairs here and three had been empty for two years. He'd spent a month at the beginning eating out, or in the living room.

Now he sometimes set places for ghosts.

Itachi was observing him as he chewed. He swallowed and wiped his lips with a napkin. "Take a seat, Sasuke."

Sasuke raised the bottle to his lips and ignored him. Naruto had glanced over. He seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

Itachi prodded his dish. He ate with the efficiency and detachment of someone who has more important things to do, who's been to a few too many business lunches, who mulls over words and chews as an afterthought. "Is something wrong with you two?" he asked.

Sasuke supposed he'd been staring lately.

"I said take a seat."

"I think I'd rather stand," Sasuke said.

Itachi bit into the food on his chopsticks, eyes on Sasuke. He didn't reply.

"Thanks for the food," Naruto said, and inhaled a chunk of orange chicken.

Itachi raised his brows at him "You're welcome."

"Never thought I'd taste House of Chen again, it's been forever. Did you get fortune cookies?" He rifled through a bag and pulled out a handful. "_Yes_!"

He ripped one open with his teeth and cracked the cookie, needling out the white slip. "Great fortune awaits you," he read. "Ha! I knew that already."

No one said anything. Sasuke took another drink from his water bottle and looked at the kitchen cupboards.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Itachi said.

"Yes."

"You must be hungry."

"I'm not."

Itachi smirked. "Alright."

"I don't like House of Chen."

"House of Chen is _awesome_," Naruto said through a mouthful of noodles.

Sasuke looked at him and away again.

"Well," Itachi said, wiping his lips again. "I don't remember you being quite as choosy."

Sasuke snorted. "You don't remember a lot of things about me."

"What," Itachi said, mildly, lightly, eyes uninterested, "is that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke looked at him over the water bottle, swallowing deliberately. Naruto was staring determinedly at his take-out box.

"Means that you're a dick, Itachi, if you think you can just come back after two years and play house as if we can actually stand each other."

Itachi's smiled blandly and sat back in his seat, contemplating Sasuke with his hands on the arms of the chair like he'd never been more comfortable.

"Let's start over," he said, after a moment. He looked at Naruto, who was still pretending to be blind and deaf, then back at Sasuke. He was wearing his usual expression of eternal fucking amusement. Sasuke wanted to hit something. "Hello, Sasuke. It's nice to see you. I'm fine, thanks. The firm is doing well. How are you?"

Sasuke twisted the cap back onto the bottle and curled his lips into one of the fakest smiles he'd ever attempted. He dropped it immediately. "Thanks, aniki. I'm doing fine, fuck you."

"That won't do at all, Sasuke," Itachi said. "You and I both know that eventually, you'll grow up, and then we'll be able have the mature, objective conversation that needs to happen if we hope to ever interact without giving you more fuel for your abandonment issues and without giving me another migraine."

Sasuke stared at him for one, two seconds, during which he noticed three things: Itachi was perfectly serious, Naruto had stopped eating, and Sasuke was slowly crushing the bottle in his hand.

Without saying a word he pushed away from the fridge and strode out the kitchen, down the hall, and slammed the door to his room open, or kicked it maybe. All he knew was that he was standing next to his bed, shoulders heaving, fingers white around the bottle, more furious than he had ever been in his fucking life. He didn't pause to think when he raised the bottle and threw it as hard as he could at the wall. It bounced off loudly and rolled out of reach under his bed.

The door clicked shut and then there was a hand on his shoulder. Naruto. Sasuke ignored him, hunched forward and attempting to get his breathing back under control. It was dark; no one had turned on the light.

For a while, Naruto just stood there, as if the simple contact was enough. "Sasuke," he said eventually, and pulled until Sasuke was facing him. "I think you need to calm the fuck down."

Sasuke sneered at Naruto's shadowed face. He couldn't read his expression in the darkness, but he wanted to punch it off.

"No seriously."

Sasuke smacked Naruto's hand off his shoulder, and pushed him away. "This is none of your business."

"Except obviously," Naruto said, "I don't give a fuck." Then he kissed him.

"Mfff," Sasuke said around warm lips and teeth, and shoved him again.

Naruto stopped, bringing his hands up to grip Sasuke by the head instead. He rested his forehead against his. "Sorry," he whispered, eyes on Sasuke's lips. "I can never tell if you're going to kiss back or bite my head off."

Sasuke was breathing sharply, but he blinked and smirked a little. "Just assume the worst."

"I do," Naruto grinned, and kissed him again. Sasuke pushed through those infuriating lips with his tongue, pouring out all his fucking anger and frustration into the slip of skin on skin, the way they breathed around each other. Naruto let him. He tasted like pepper.

They pulled apart, after a long minute. Naruto rested their foreheads together again and ran a hand over Sasuke's neck.

"I hate to sound like the voice of reason," he said, after his breaths had evened out and he'd swallowed. "But don't let him get to you."

"Too late," Sasuke muttered seconds later, eyes shut and brows raised. "Also, fuck you."

"What for?" Naruto said, whisper riddled with an imminent laugh.

"What are you, my therapist?"

"Better," Naruto whispered, and grinned.

"Ha," Sasuke said.

"Look, you can't though," Naruto continued. He will never not be a stubborn idiot, Sasuke thought. "You haven't been listening to yourself. Itachi's a dick, yeah, but just let him play things how he wants to. Just let him say whatever he wants to say. But you know and I know that it doesn't _matter_, okay."

"Of course it matters," Sasuke said, almost resentfully. More than anything, he didn't add. Has always mattered.

Naruto was quiet, still, like he'd started meditating where he stood. "You matter more," he said, finally. Whispered it as if the words were painful in his mouth. "And. It's just Itachi."

"Fuck Itachi," Sasuke laughed, quietly. And felt, just for this second, that the entire situation was some sort of joke.

"Yeah. But you can't ignore him forever."

"Try me."

"You can't," Naruto said, smiling, and brushed his lips against Sasuke's.

Sasuke simply inhaled.

"Come on." Naruto backed away and nodded at the door. "He's waiting for his mature, objective _conversation_."

"Hn," Sasuke said, and followed him out, into the hallway. Itachi had left the kitchen and was sitting in the living room again. He looked up when they walked in, as politely, spitefully amused as ever.

"All done?" he asked.

Sasuke took a seat on the couch, and it had taken all of two words, he thought. A new record. This thing was off to a great start.

Naruto sat down next to him. "Don't know what you're talking about," he replied, stretching his legs not unlike a cat.

Itachi hummed and set his eyes on Sasuke. Sasuke was finding it difficult to meet them without letting slip every expression he shouldn't.

"Well, talk," he said when Itachi seemed to be expecting a written invitation with a request to _rsvp_.

Itachi crossed his legs and smiled calmly. "Okay," he said.

Asshole.

"So." Itachi's smile twitched as if he had heard him thinking. "I think I should begin," he said, "by congratulating you, Sasuke."

Sasuke bit his lip, hard. Was Itachi really going to do this? Was this how it was going to be?

"I enjoyed your speech."

Sasuke felt his mouth jag into something too twisted to be amusement. "Did you?" he said. He felt Naruto's eyes on his face but didn't turn.

"Yes. I know it's difficult, keeping your grades up. Staying top of the class."

Sasuke bowed his head. He didn't know what he'd expected Itachi to say, or why he was surprised at the mass that welled up at the back of his throat, hot and thick. Of all the things—

Who gave a shit about his grades?

Itachi was still looking at him, detached. There was silence, like hesitation—only Itachi doesn't hesitate, he draws things out for his own sadistic pleasure. He tilted his head, crossed his legs again, and said: "Dad would have been proud."

Sasuke felt himself clench up. Was Itachi playing a fucking game, he wondered. "You would know, wouldn't you?" he said. "Maybe you can tell me how it feels."

And he wasn't sure but he thought Itachi might have winced.

"Why," his brother said, voice low and flat for the first time that night. He stopped. Sasuke saw him swallow, clench his fist, loosen it. "Why are you making this so difficult, Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly—"

"I mean, god forbid anyone ever make anything difficult for you, Itachi."

"That's not—"

"Let's all just fucking move aside and make way for Itachi Uchiha."

"Sasuke."

"Oh no, Itachi. I'm too busy to talk right now. But you can schedule a time with my _fucking secretary_."

"_Sasuke._"

Sasuke sucked in a breath and glared at the coffee table. Exhaled, and goddamnit but he felt like killing something. "What," he said. Next to him, Naruto had his ankle crossed over his knee. He was shaking his foot up and down, rapid, staccato.

Itachi sighed then and rubbed his forehead, and in that moment he looked so extremely tired. His brother sat up in his seat and set bloodshot eyes on Naruto. "Would you like to get something to drink?" he asked.

Sasuke scoffed and swore under his breath. Naruto lifted his face up and regarded Itachi coolly. "No. Stop trying to get rid of me. Because you won't."

Itachi frowned, just a little, as if he were trying to work out a stubborn problem. "Fine," he said, at last. "That's fine. I didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome."

"Heh," Sasuke said, wearily twisting the ring on his finger round and round. "You're so full of shit."

"Look," said Itachi's voice, and Sasuke could only feel sick pleasure because for once he didn't sound composed and unaffected. He glanced up and met Itachi's hard gaze. "I'm sorry about the secretary incident, alright? But I was busy. I called you back, didn't I?"

Sasuke sat back in his seat and stretched his legs out. "No," he said. "You didn't."

Itachi just stared. After a moment he lifted his brows and looked down at his hand. He cleared his throat. "Well."

Sasuke smiled, but there was no humor in it.

"I…" Itachi was looking around the living room, as if the furniture hid answers, breathing out the word with deliberation. "…apologize. I apologize, Sasuke."

Sasuke said nothing.

"But really. Was it an emergency? Clearly, not. You're overreacting."

Sasuke gazed blandly at him. There was anger and pathetic hurt, a broiling black cloud of it, but it was feeling steadily more meaningless. Just fucked up dregs he'd have to deal with. Everyone had long since moved on. He wondered when Itachi had stopped surprising him. Next to him, Naruto sat up. There was a dangerous set to his mouth. "Jesus, Itachi."

Itachi looked at Naruto. "Sorry?"

"How can you—"

"Just shut up, Naruto," Sasuke said. "Itachi's right. It wasn't an emergency. The call wasn't important. Just forget it." He ignored Naruto's glare because Itachi was frowning now, frowning with eyes downward like he used to get when remembering something he'd forgotten.

"Sasuke," he said to the coffee table. "You know. If talking to me was so important to you—well. It might have helped if you'd let the calls go past two fucking minutes. I mean." He looked up, visibly angry for once. "How am I supposed to react to that?"

"Sorry, Itachi. Did I hurt your feelings? Did you—need me?" Sasuke didn't even bother meeting Itachi's eyes. He ran his fingers over the ring, feeling the familiar roughness. Twisted it. Ever since finding it that afternoon, slipping it back on his finger where it had once belonged, it had felt cumbersome and foreign as if it were a living organ that, now removed from him, was being rejected by his body. The quiet dragged on. He looked up. Itachi was wearing the strangest expression. Sasuke remembered the time Itachi had accidentally twisted his ankle, years ago in the backyard of the house they'd grown up in. On his face, dripping off his lips and brows, there had been harsh discipline mixed with pure, singing pain like so much paint, like so much cold Uchiha blood.

"Not at all," Itachi said.

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer. Once upon a time that pain in his brother's eyes would be also in his own, but now there was no room and it was much too late anyway. He turned back to his ring. "Fuck you, Itachi," he said, "for not giving a shit."

Itachi didn't reply.

"Fuck you and your stupid job, and fuck your secretary too." It was liberating how completely calm he felt.

The room was quiet, the kind in which seconds drag like the inhale-exhale of lungs. Itachi was breathing harshly through his nose, and Sasuke felt detached. The scene was playing out before him, as he'd always known it would have. Nothing changes. His days stopped moving forward two years ago.

"You never cared. Not enough," Sasuke said. Just words to fill the silence. He'd been thinking about this all week long, this moment, now, sitting in his living room and speaking these words to Itachi. He'd imagined he would feel a vindictive pleasure, a satisfaction long denied him. He hadn't known that by then it would be only play-acting.

Someone swallowed loudly. Itachi was looking down at his fists. He turned his head to side a bit, as if he were stretching out under the weight of the room, and let out a strangled chuckle.

"Sasuke," he said, quiet, and turned to look him in the eye. His face was pulled thin, there was a waxy sort of desperation in the spread of his lips. Or maybe it was just straight-up amusement; Sasuke didn't know and he didn't give a fuck. Eyes blacker than his gleamed as if they were sharing a joke. "So. Did you want me to hold your hand through it? That's what it really is, isn't it? As far as Uchiha Sasuke can comprehend, the world revolves around him and him alone."

And there was a strange yank of terror in the pit of Sasuke's stomach because this wasn't the Itachi he'd known, or maybe because this was actually who Itachi had been all along. Itachi's words were volatile, razor thin and like acid in aerosol, condensing between him and the coffee table.

"Nothing to say, Sasuke?" The air was jagged and Sasuke's heart was pumping. Next to him Naruto opened his mouth, eyes furious but- "Did you, maybe, want me to apologize for not indulging you in your adolescent little mood swings?" Itachi said, "Did you think I had the time or desire to walk you through life?"

He sneered, a fragile look on him but by that point it was all over.

Sasuke didn't really process standing up, didn't care how he got from one side of the coffee table to the other but that fucking marble blob he'd always hated ended up the carpet and then he was fisting Itachi's shirt between white knuckles. He was going to—going to _kill_ this motherfucking—

"You. Murdered. Them," Sasuke hissed into Itachi's face. "You fucking killed them. They are _dead_, because of you."

Itachi's mouth was open and so close he looked unhealthy, sallow and something to stay away from as if proximity would spread a lingering malaise, the sickly yellow smell of someone not quite living. He was laughing, softly. Sasuke almost let go of his collar because of the look in his eye. Sasuke had been through enough things to know utter fucking agony when he saw it. But then-"No I didn't," Itachi said, and Sasuke tightened his grip, baring his teeth in rage.

"YOU KILLED THEM," he shouted. His voice broke. He was breathing in sobs.

Itachi was silent for a moment, eyes flicking over Sasuke's face. "No I didn't—"

"WHO," Sasuke yelled. He took a breath, panting, and bit his lip. "Who was driving the car?" he whispered, staring down the face of his brother. His brother.

"Sasuke—"

"Answer me."

"No. Sasuke—"

"WHO. WAS DRIVING THE CAR?"

Itachi cleared his throat. Swallowed. A moment of silence and then, "I was."

Sasuke's chest was heaving. "Heh." He caved into himself a little. Realized he was crying but by then it didn't matter. "That's right," he breathed out, voice thin. "And you don't give a _shit_." He shook Itachi by the collar of his shirt, a brief thrust, violent and helpless. He knew his face was scrunched up. Another shake. "Fuck you."

"No," Itachi said, "you don't get to do that."

"Fuck _you_, Itachi. I guess you wouldn't understand, would you? No. Dad was always around to tell you how fucking perfect you are, fucking perfect Itachi, it's not like—like, you were _missing_ anything when he died, when you_ killed_ him, you had someone who gave a shit about you once so you could just go on with life couldn't you—"

"You _don't_," Itachi hissed, digging his fingers into Sasuke's shirt and pulling him closer, "get to do that."

"Do what?" Sasuke said with a choked laugh and it was a little hysterical. "Tell you the truth? Fucking illuminate your little brain of the fact that because of you—because of _you_, I've got nothing, will always have nothing—"

"You don't get to make it about you!" Itachi said, voice raised. And closed his eyes. Sasuke was breathing like he'd been running. He glared at Itachi's shut face.

"Do you really believe," Itachi said slowly, opening his eyes. They were glassy, burning straight through him, searching. His brows were pulled together. "You actually think that I—that I—"

He didn't finish. After a moment, Sasuke unclenched his hands and straightened. Looked down at Itachi. He brought his hand up and pulled off his ring.

"This is yours," he said, and dropped it in Itachi's lap. Itachi just stared at it. "Dad's ring. I've always hated that thing."

It took a long moment for Itachi to respond. "He would've have wanted you to have it."

"That's a lie," Sasuke said, and thought his voice might break again. "That's a lie and you know it. And, he's dead." He struggled with the mass in his chest for a moment. "I fucking hate that thing."

"Sasuke. He would have wanted you to have it."

And just like that. "I DON'T. Want it. Don't you dare act like you know what he would have wanted. Don't even talk about him in front of me."

"Listen to me, Sasuke," Itachi said, and he was getting angry again. He was livid, in fact. "You will fucking listen to me. Do you really think that—" he grasped at Sasuke shirt and pulled him closer, standing suddenly. The ring clattered to the ground, skidding to a rest somewhere under the armchair. Itachi's eyes bored into him from above and Sasuke felt eight years old again. "Ever since—" Itachi whispered, a hoarse and entirely too raw sound. It made Sasuke want to turn away, like it was indecent to listen to. "Ever since, I haven't gone through a single goddamn_ moment_ where I don't regret getting into the driver's seat that day. I don't—" He stopped. His breath hitched. "Do you know how many times I've gone over it in my head? Realized all the things I could have done different? I could have taken a different road. It had just rained, I could've taken a different road. I could've—I see them, Sasuke, all the time. In my head. Like they were right after the accident, eyes still open, and, and _Mom, _the fucking branch had gone right through the window and she—I will _never_. Not see them, okay Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared at him. He was trembling. Itachi was bruising him where he'd gripped his arm. "That doesn't," he said in an inflectionless tone, "excuse you. That doesn't mean anything." It came out with less vehemence than he'd meant.

Itachi looked like he was about to fall apart at the seams. "I know," he said, whispered. "I _know_. I didn't kill them. But it was my fault."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He pressed his lips together, looked past Itachi's shoulder, and thought the obstruction he'd been feeling in his chest might actually asphyxiate him. The repressed tremors turning him into something like stone or maybe something peeled and fluttering and entirely too alive. God, he was crying again.

Itachi let go of his arm, brought his hand to his own head and it was shaking there, pale against the strands of his hair. He dropped it and stepped back. Turned away and swallowed because apparently he had nothing left anymore either. His stark skin and eyes glinted a punched-in-the-gut sort of look and in that moment Sasuke thought, "He looks like he did when we were young."

"I'm sorry," Itachi said. His breathing was shaky and he seemed to be stitching himself back together, slowly. He turned to Sasuke and met his eyes. "I'm sorry. Just. They were my parents too."

For a while, no one said anything. Itachi looked over at Naruto and so Sasuke did as well. He was sitting in the same spot. His mouth was pulled in an odd way, his brows drawn in as if he couldn't decide what expression to make. Sasuke thought it was mostly one of alarm.

"What," Naruto said when neither spoke. Sasuke turned away, irritated for some reason, and pressed his palms into his eyes. Maybe if he kept them there, rubbing in tight circles, he'd wake up dead.

He heard Itachi move away. He let his hands fall and saw that Itachi was on the other side of the coffee table now, brushing his hair back from his face with ragged fingers. He was thinner now than two years ago. Stooping suddenly, Itachi picked up the marble table piece from the carpet. He glanced at Sasuke and set it down on the glass with a heavy clunk.

"Fuck," Itachi muttered.

Sasuke just stood there, arms at his side, drained. He imagined all feeling to have left him through his fingertips, the last dregs still dripping a vulgar mess all over the carpet. I'm sorry, he thought. For what?

"Look," Itachi said, rubbing a hand over his forehead. He jerked it away and gestured vaguely at Sasuke. "We'll talk. About this tomorrow."

Sasuke gazed blankly at him.

"I can't do this right now."

Itachi turned towards the hall but paused at the doorway. "I apologize, Naruto," he said over his shoulder. "You shouldn't have had to see that."

"Uh," Naruto said, sounding a little afraid. Itachi didn't wait for a reply. A few seconds later a door slammed shut.

Sasuke passed his hands through his hair and bent forward.

"When was the last time you cleaned Itachi's room?" Naruto asked somewhere to his left.

Sasuke shrugged, keeping his eyes closed.

"Heh. It's going to be groaty as all fuck in there."

Sasuke straightened up. "Groaty?" he asked. Naruto was _lounging_. He was so comfortably pleased, sitting on Sasuke's couch, in Sasuke's living room, that it should have been illegal. "And why the fuck do you look so chipper?"

Naruto shrugged and welcomed a shit-eating grin onto his face. "Thought that went better than expected."

"Huh," Sasuke said, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fuck you." He squeezed past coffee table, kicking Naruto's leg aside and made for the hallway as well. He was feeling papery thin lately, and immediate plans included locating his bed and putting himself in contact with it.

He paused in front of Itachi's door. The light was on, as it hadn't been for-he was thinking that maybe after Itachi left, he'd keep the light on anyway.

Naruto had followed him, of course. Sasuke turned away and made it to his room. He shed layers as he stepped over stray clothing articles lying moonlit and desaturated across floorboards blue with night, the edges of which he could barely make out. Pulling a knee up on the bed he crawled forward and collapsed. The sheets were cool. The bed dipped and then he felt Naruto beside him, flopping backwards with a muffled thump and a too-loud sigh. Sasuke was determined to never open his eyes or acknowledge anyone ever again.

"Scoot," a voiced whispered.

Sasuke failed to react.

The bed shifted again and he turned his head from where it was buried in the pillow to glare. Naruto had sat up and was pulling his t-shirt off, tossing it somewhere in the dark room, then starting on his jeans. Sasuke continued to look and say nothing. Naruto stretched back on the mattress, arms behind his head. He peeked down at Sasuke through lowered eyelids and satisfied smile. "Hey."

Sasuke blinked slowly, but only because it seemed Naruto was searching for signs of life.

Naruto brought a hand down to run it through Sasuke's hair. Down his neck, to his back, then up again.

Sasuke closed his eyes.

The mattress moved again; Naruto had shifted again to curl an arm over Sasuke's shoulder, heavy and warm and so very real. Something brushed his calf and then there was a leg insinuating itself between his. "Will you settle the fuck down?" Sasuke whispered, eyes still furrowed shut.

"Dude, chill," Naruto whispered back.

"Just be quiet."

"Okay, jeez!"

"Fuck, shut _up_."

"I will! Stop talking to me!"

"Just shut up!"

"Gah!"

Sasuke blindly smacked Naruto's face only to hear stifled laughter. He opened his eyes. Naruto was close, breathing light and hot against his mouth. His eyes were focused on Sasuke frown but he glanced up and grinned more widely.

"Hey," he said after a few seconds. "What if we wake up tomorrow and can't remember where the ring is?"

Sasuke stared at the face two inches from his. A moment later he shrugged calmly and closed his eyes again. They were heavy. This bed was the best thing that had happened all day. Well. Almost.

"Actually, where is the ring?" Naruto said suddenly.

"Fuck the ring," Sasuke said.

Naruto rubbed the skin of Sasuke's neck. His hand stilled. "Pfft. That's what she said."

Sasuke winced.

Naruto laughed quietly. "That was awful, I'm sorry."

Sasuke opened his eyes one last time. Naruto blinked and looked at him, smile slowly fading, like he was memorizing the contours of his face. Leaning in, he kissed him. Just a brush of lips.

Sasuke sunk into that feeling. Sunk into sleep.

* * *

AN: There'll be one more chapter.

-nostratic


	15. Chapter 14

Bet you all thought I'd never finish this.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha's first thought upon awakening was a quiet little query as to in what moment in time his pillow had been replaced by bare skin. Confused momentarily as to what day it was, where he was, and why Naruto was warm and shirtless beneath him, he lifted his head, neck groaning, to see over the duvet he seemed to have drowned in overnight.

Naruto was still asleep, frowning and hand up near his face in a fist. Sasuke shut his eyes and let his head loll against the sheets, too half-asleep to react beyond flopping an arm across his face. Realized that if he got up, walked down the hall, and opened Itachi's door, he'd find him sleeping like so many years ago. And wasn't that the strangest thought. Blood had been spilled last night.

Enough. Though Sasuke had just woken from what had been a restless, unsettled night of sleep he felt blissfully numb. There is time for everything. Not that he wasn't exhausted-he was so, to the bone. He shifted quietly over on his side, digging himself into the soft cotton. The sheets were toasted with the heat of two people and the day leaking through the window was sunny and humming with the lazy traffic of the street below.

Naruto's lips twitched into a deeper scowl and he sighed in his sleep. I will never not be in this moment, Sasuke thought. He leaned forward, freezing once and feeling eight years old again, about to get caught trying on his father's cologne. Then he pressed his lips to Naruto's, just a slight pressure. His lips were dry. Sasuke drew back with a shaky exhale, raised a curled hand, dropped it, and moved again to touch his nose to Naruto's cheek. He closed his eyes. Maybe felt himself dissolve a little. Naruto's breaths were even and deep. Sasuke kept his eyes wrenched shut and buried himself in Naruto's hair, inhaling lightly as if he was afraid of oxygen, of other things Naruto finding their way into his system and embedding themselves inextricably somewhere below his heart and behind his lungs. A hopeless exercise, he knew that. Lips brushed skin, just below the hairline, and Sasuke wrapped himself in palpitating, silent things until he sank and drowned back into sleep.

When he woke Naruto had an arm around him, a hot roughened hand up the back of his shirt, comfortable against the base of his spine as if it had roots there. Sasuke was pretty sure Naruto had stolen his aftershave. He was still sleeping, of course, but blank now in a way he never was while awake. His mouth was slightly open.

After a minute Sasuke extracted himself from the arm and the sheets. He sat up, toes touching the cool floorboards, bent over his bare knees with the weight of re-entering the wakefulness and sometimes melancholy of his life. Over his shoulder, Naruto was still out of course, curled into the absent heat of the sleep-pressed space Sasuke had recently vacated, like something in a garden. He is like those blades of grass in the summer, Sasuke thought. I'm an idiot he thought. But so is Naruto, he thought. On impulse he leant back down and kissed Naruto once on the neck, right on the vein. Then he left the sleeping body and plucked the abandoned wrinkle that was his shirt from the floor, pulling it over his head. Walked out the door and stood there for a second, looking down the hallway painted with stretching morning shadows, a cityscape against his wallpaper, and warm light. He could see dust mites. It was going to be another hot day; he could feel it already as he stood in his boxers.

Itachi's door was ajar and there was day streaming through it. He moved over the floorboards towards the light and sank into years before when he was a boy bereaved and alone in a house of empty rooms and not even an echo to tell him there was no one left. He always remembered that time of his life in the ember glow of afternoons, of cracked curtains, the world outside passing slowly away from him like something dying as he drained the hours in the cool silence of shaded corners. He had laid witness to all those barren summer days, but summer had come again and Sasuke let its hot tendrils embrace him as he pushed the door open, wider. It swung out forever, for a slow creaking second, and there laid Itachi preserved and real. The leaves in the window played a kaleidoscope in washed gray tone across his sheets, mixing and flowing with a silent gust.

Sasuke stood at the foot of the bed and thought of how, at the funeral, Itachi had said two things. The first was, Mother and Father may you live forever may you find peace you will be remembered in your eternal rest you were loved you were _loved_, and the second was, I am so sorry, Sasuke.

Sasuke's tears had filled his swollen eyes and his cheeks and every empty space in the world including the hole in the ground before him, and he'd been deaf to things for a long time.

But he hadn't cried for years now. Time had fluttered through this room on insect wings, the faded tones of fastforward, a film noir flickering against a blank wall in a darkened room. Itachi's room. Sasuke walked around the foot of the bed, lifted the duvet, and got in. It was warm. He turned on his side, a question mark under the sheets.

Itachi had always been beautiful. It was their mother, about his eyes. The quiet, insolently masculine curve of his jaw. It was the dead way he looked at you. Oh how Sasuke hated him.

Itachi woke then, raised his eyes to the ceiling, eyelids fluttering as if what he saw there was less than good news. He swallowed, coming to life slowly in the rustling sheets, a muscle working in his cheek, a tendon in his neck taut, and Sasuke imagined snakes. Sasuke imagined many things. He imagined his brother waking to the knowledge of his obdurate existence, of the continued and incessant beating of his own heart, knew exactly how those first seconds dissect every slow breath until one can only wonder at how they keep coming, unbidden. Itachi inhaled deeply and looked at Sasuke. It was a dark slant of eyes. Oh how Sasuke hated him.

Sasuke had lost all his words. He'd had many but after last night they laid in a pulpy mess on his living room floor. He'd have to call the carpet cleaners. He was feeling hollow lately.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, and raised a hand across the canyon between them, all two endless feet, to place it on his cheek. Sasuke stared at him, the pitiless stare of savage looking out of the wilderness, face painted inhuman and emotionless.

Itachi's pupils shook minutely back and forth as if he were still coming out of his dream, as if he were scanning for signs of life. He swallowed again, the white bottom teeth of his mouth peeking dryly above his parted lips. "I dreamt about you last night," he said, and brushed Sasuke's hair behind his ear.

Sasuke remained a corpse and corpses, naturally, say nothing.

"In my dream you had died also."

This, Sasuke felt register in his circuitboard of feeling. It was an old analog model and it was currently in the process of grossly rewiring itself. It wanted him to laugh, in any case, but he might have forgotten how.

Itachi's mouth broke, then smoothed over just as soon. "It's not the first time I dream that," he said in a voice thick as the blood on his hands. He moved forward to take Sasuke in his grasp, dig into him with a cruel spade of an embrace, burrow his head into Sasuke's neck. Hot breath on his cheek, Sasuke stared calmly at the wallpaper across the room; it hosted intricate vines and he thought of trees, the trees outside his childhood home preserved in the autumn of his memory, of his father strong and indomitable and wooden always, of the splintered boughs of his family, of the trellised and inching progression of his life which to date had borne nothing. Of the branch that broke through the car window that day and impaled his mother's heart.

"I'm sorry," Itachi whispered into his ear. Sasuke found that a tear was trembling off the tip of his nose. "For leaving you like that."

And Sasuke swallowed. He gripped dry cotton sheets in his fists. "When," he said softly, "has that ever been enough?"

Itachi cradled his head with his hand, face still hidden behind Sasuke's neck. In the stumbling seconds Sasuke felt Itachi's heart beat, painful against his chest, blood of his blood. A few years ago Sasuke learned the dedicated art of all-consuming hate, filled his mouth with reserves of venom and waited for the next opportunity to spit but they came few and far between, outweighed instead by distance, and so his hatred grew stale and tenuous and thereby all the more imbued in him. He could not abandon his anger.

"I am sorry," Itachi replied with a sadness that echoed into Sasuke's lungs. Sasuke blinked and shook his head.

"Sasuke."

His eyes burned and he burned also, with shame and with a sudden muscle-tensing, throat-constricting panic. "I will never," he gritted out past his tears, "forgive you."

Itachi only tightened his arms. A sob ripped violently out of Sasuke's throat. "Even if you never stop apologizing," he said with strangled, limp words, "even until you're fucking dead, I will never forgive you." He bared his teeth and clamp shut his wet eyes.

Itachi held him through the shudders. Past the white rush, through the plunge, in his ears he heard his brother whisper, "I know."

Sasuke only hunched tighter into himself. "You don't have to," Itachi said, and continued to hold him in the only embrace Sasuke had ever missed.

Sasuke broke then, in every way it is possible for a human spirit to break. He tightened his fingers into the wrenched fabric of Itachi's shirt and dug his head into Itachi's shoulder and said nothing, could say nothing. All he was left with was grief. Itachi held him, still.

Later, as he flew once more through the verdant boughs of his dreams, through those forested labyrinths that occupied the recesses of his mind, Sasuke recognized every falling, cheek-splitting leaf, for the life trees were finally leading him home. Red walls loom ahead.

* * *

Later in the day, Itachi is gone again. It hasn't been any time at all and Sasuke is left with the hollow knowledge that, no, Itachi is not lost and yet will be lost to him once more, as usual. They were never the kind of brothers that would grow through life together because Sasuke is a soaring branch, angry and bare against winter skies, but Itachi is a root deep in the earth, wise and strong and eternal. And yet here Sasuke is, standing in an empty room once more.

"Hey," Naruto says from the door. Sasuke turns, and watches the way Naruto looks at him. He's standing there gripping the doorjamb like he can't stand still, indecisive about whether he wants to be standing outside of the room or in it. He's nervous, Sasuke realizes. Smirks.

Naruto grins at him, and it's relieved. "Come on," he says.

* * *

Earlier, Sasuke had navigated through the busy restaurant, past the bar and between occupied seats to reach the booth and Naruto had looked up and smiled. He'd had an arm around Sakura and pointed at him with the hand resting on her shoulder, saying something to her that Sasuke couldn't hear over the restaurant, eyes glittering with humor. Sasuke sat down next to him.

"It's rude to point," he said. Naruto just smiled wider, right into Sasuke's face, a slow smile that pulled at the corners of his eyes, and put his other arm around Sasuke. Sakura leaned forward from her side, hair falling forward in a short curtain and grinned.

"Hey, Sasuke," she said. "Glad you could make it." And Sasuke knew that, obviously, she knew.

Sasuke stared at her for a second, then at Naruto, who was on the verge of laughter. Then he glanced away across the table with a smirk. Ino was sipping out of a pink straw, next to a sullen Shikamaru who had just said something or other about how he could have slept in just that much more. Naruto did laugh then.

"Hey," he said, "It's not my fault Sasuke's late, it's Sasuke's fault. Things usually are."

Ino scoffed again and traded looks with Shikamaru. "Well," she said, in reply to some secret message in the angle of Shikamarus' eyebrows. She whipped her hair aside and sat straighter. "Anyway. Now that you're _here_." She shot Sasuke a stern eye.

Sasuke shrugged. "Traffic at the airport."

Next to him, Naruto rolled his eyes.

Ino's brows were raised. Naruto and Sasuke sat at attention. She smiled in satisfaction and looked around the booth, raising her plastic glass of soda. "So. Thank you for coming, Sasuke. Shikamaru won't stop complaining so let's make this quick. I'd like to make a toast."

"Hear hear!" Naruto said, his arms still crushing Sasuke and Sakura to him.

"Shut up," Ino said, "and don't talk with food in your mouth." Sakura stifled a snicker. "As I was saying." She paused and let a smile bubble up, a real one, a slightly sad one. She cocked her head. "It's been a great year, guys."

Sakura reached across the table and grabbed her hand, eyes bright and her lip bit. Ino looked on the verge of tears already, and her smile turned into a helpless grin. "And. Well." She laughed and did start crying then, a little. Her hand left Sakura's to wipe at her eyes. "Look at me," she said, ducking her head to stare down at her plate of barbecue. "I had this whole thing prepared." Shikamaru sighed and put his arm around her with a resigned look on his face.

"Well don't drag it out," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him, a wet giggle escaping her mouth. "Anyway." She took a deep breath and collected herself, beaming around the table once more. She grabbed her glass and raised it again, like a wry afterthought. "Forget about me, look at all of you." Glances strayed and smiles were traded. Sasuke could feel Naruto's eyes on him, inches away from his face. He smirked a little but didn't turn. Ino was talking again. "Here we are. We made it."

"Barely," Sasuke muttered.

Ino smiled widely. "And better for it, right?" she said. "I mean, if I do say so myself, we are a good looking bunch. I'm pretty sure we've just upped the class level of this place by five thousand."

Shikamaru's face quirked into a odd look, which he directed at the ceiling. Ino turned, noticed, laughed. "Shikamaru for one, Mr. Salutatorian. No idea how you pulled that off, but well done." She shot him a flirty little grin. "I drink to you," she articulated carefully and raised the glass to her lips.

Shikamaru watched her do it, and a slow smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. She lowered the glass. "Thank you for being the wonderful, funny, handsome person you are," she said and pecked him on the lips.

Naruto made a gagging noise. Ino scowled at him. "Sorry," he said. Ino's face, however, remained pensively furrowed as if Naruto was a puzzle she couldn't quite piece together. Then she smirked. "And, then there's you, Naruto." She paused, and still leering. "Remember that time—"

"—Yes, Ino."

"Well that was, just—"

Naruto huffed. "I know."

"And the security guard!"

"Well, that ended fine didn't it."

Ino tilted her head back and laughed.

Naruto looked uncomfortably amused

Ino bowed her head into a nod. "Yeah. Well, thank you. I still owe you one."

Naruto slouched, his arm weighing heavier on Sasuke's shoulder, and laughed. "Don't worry about it."

It was silent. Shikamaru leaned forward. "…Okay?"

Ino's eyes flicked across the table. "Oh," she said. "Don't worry, that was before we were dating." Shikamaru cleared his throat, looking woefully misplaced with his arm around Ino. Sasuke bit back a laugh.

Naruto was shaking his head. "It's in the past."

Ino just grinned at him. "You met me at a very strange time in my life."

The corners of Naruto's lips tilted. That was all he gave.

"When isn't it a strange time in your life?" Sakura asked herself, right before she tore into a rib.

Ino laughed and observed with fondness as Sakura tried to wipe sauce off the lower half of her face. "You're absolutely insane."

Sakura shrugged and kept chewing.

"Do you need a speech from me?"

"No," Sakura said, emphatically as one can be with a full mouth.

"I prepared one just for you."

Sakura swallowed. "You did?" she asked, nose scrunched.

Ino nodded, beaming.

Sakura waved the rib around, indicating her reluctant acquiescence.

Ino seemed to be deeply enjoying herself. "You, Sakura, are my number one bitch. I mean everything I say to you. If you were a dude, I'd hit that. I'm secretly jealous of your wardrobe. I lied the other day when I said the cookies you baked were bland."

Sakura shrugged. "I know."

Ino sighed loudly and stared off into the restaurant. "I hate how you can do that. How do you do that?" Sakura just smiled.

"Well," Ino said. "I want you to know that I have a huge lesbian crush on you."

Naruto coughed. Sakura elbowed him and laughed. "The feeling's mutual, obviously."

"And that being roommates in the fall is going to be fucking _awesome_. Am I right?"

"Eh," Sakura said, and winced. Ino cackled. When she settled back into herself she was looking at Sasuke. The look turned warm.

"Hey," she said.

"What?" Sasuke said.

Ino mock-frowned and knocked him with her foot under the table. "Don't 'what' me."

Sasuke sighed, wearing a strained veil of patience. But there was a smile peeking through.

"Hey! Don't act like you suddenly like me." She sat back and crossed her arms. "Are you trying to give everyone a good impression?"

"Hardly," Sasuke said. Naruto snorted.

"Well don't bother. We all know what you're like." At that, Sakura laughed loudly. Ino grinned and raised her brows in smug challenge. "That's right. You're mean."

"You're dramatic," Sasuke said.

She narrowed her eyes. "But we know it's all an act," she whispered.

Sasuke smirked it off, as Naruto shifted next to him. "That's what I want you to think."

Ino had given it up, and was smiling widely. "I guess we've all been duped then."

Sasuke shrugged, with his face and his shoulders.

Ino paused, for effect, Sasuke assumed. "Hey," she said, again.

"What?" Sasuke said.

"Congratulations."

Sasuke looked at her for a few seconds. Then, quietly, at the table.

* * *

He'd talked about his plans for the future, during the car ride to the airport. Itachi had been sheltering a Starbucks cup between his legs in the passenger seat and Sasuke had told him about his teachers, about the one who'd reminded him of that picture of their great uncle with the eccentric beard. About what it felt like to deliver a speech in front of thousands, and about the people he knew here. About Naruto, in brief words, broken up by silences that spoke more than he'd ever manage to articulate. About what he'd been thinking about the imminence of university life. He had laughed even, forgotten himself and before he could stop it, laughed. And continued to talk. He'd kept his eyes on the road, turning left here and honking irritably at a slow driver, speaking with ease and detachment, because Itachi had been by natural choice the only person Sasuke knew how to confide in. After everything.

Inevitably, there arrived the moment in the temporary lane, where in the movies the one leaving hauls his bag out of the trunk and looks into the bright light of the sleepless airport, where will our road take us now, and turns instead to the open window of the black car he has just vacated and asks, "Why are we here?"

Instead Itachi looks at him through the open window, a hand clasped over the lock, other hand on his coffee cup. "Sasuke," he says, and Sasuke waits and stares while he breathes in the stale gasoline smell of international airports, of sleepless transient nights and jet lag, of luggage.

Itachi is looking at him like there's a fountain of words somewhere inside him, like he didn't accomplish quite what he intended. He's pale and tired and his long impeccable strands of hair are having a minor scuffle against his brow in the light noon wind.

Sasuke shakes his head. Leans it against his steering wheel. "What."

"I, uh." Itachi closes his eyes and shifts his weight, leans his other hand to the car door as well. It's bright daylight outside and for a second Itachi's gray eyes run up over the hood of the car across the parking lot. A bead of sweat run downs his cheek.

Sasuke closes his eyes.

"You have always. I want you…to be happy. Do you understand?"

Sasuke opens his eyes and stares into his brother's. They are, as always, unreadable. And yet completely familiar.

"I have never stopped caring about you, Sasuke," his brother says after a stringy pause, and Sasuke closes his eyes again. "There has not been one day," the voice continues, hesitantly. "That I have forgotten who I am."

When he opens them Itachi is walking away, black coat slung over an arm, luggage in hand.

It takes the impatient blare of a honk behind him, minutes later, to stir Sasuke to activity again, to shift the car into drive and make his way home as if his heart didn't feel like it was bleeding determinedly from the inside.

* * *

"Come on," Naruto says, and Sasuke looks back at the bed sheets. His mother bought those. He cannot picture this room any differently. The design muted and laid in clean angles and it takes Naruto's voice from the doorway to remind him that Itachi is gone, again.

"Come on," Naruto says, and Sasuke feels like he's just shrugged off a heavy coat. He can breathe a little clearer. Naruto eyes are trained on him, his arms crossed. Sasuke had looked at Naruto's arms in the restaurant, as he ate. His wrists, and his fingers. It doesn't even take until he reaches the hallway before Naruto has him pushed up against the doorjamb.

Sasuke hisses, but Naruto grins and says: "You like it."

"No-" Sasuke starts but it's okay if Naruto doesn't hear him, this time. This is new, the idea that they can do this and it's only been a day but Sasuke can tell that this is fast becoming Naruto's favorite hobby. Naruto has his hands under Sasuke's shirt and is rubbing at the pulse there, above his hip and Naruto has his mouth nipping along Sasuke's jaw and it's soft and wet and the warmth goes straight to his groin.

"You like it," Naruto stops to breathe in his ear.

"Hn," Sasuke says, and it's true.

* * *

"So boys," said their mother, wrists against the table edge, fork in cleanly manicured fingers. She nodded and their father began to eat from his steaming bowl. Sasuke looked down at his own and noticed the distinct and overbearing presence of Nothing Yummy. He prodded his rice ball with his chopsticks and ate the bite that returned, rolling it over with his tongue so he could feel the bland, steamy grains turn to mush in his mouth. The lightly seasoned winter squash waiting on his plate incited in him a vague resentment.

"How was class today?" his mother was saying. The bracelets on her wrist clicked lightly together as she attended to her own vegetables. They glinted brass-like against the candle light she insisted on having accompany every family dinner.

Itachi sat next to Sasuke, plodding through his own plate with a mechanical almost-urgency. Sasuke watched him spear a chunk of squash, raise it to his lips, chew. "Fine. We're reading Heart of Darkness. I finished it last night."

"Eat your food, Sasuke," said his father. He had been watching him watch Itachi, it seems. Sasuke ducked his head and made for more rice from his plate.

"How'd you like it?" his mother said, leaning forward and beaming with genuine interest.

Itachi shrugged. "It was fine."

"You know that Conrad was a particularly progressive author, in his time? Just in terms of his style. I mean there is of course the whole issue with Achebe and so they don't teach it in schools nearly as much as they used to. But he's so _visua_l! I make my graduate students read excerpts, usually."

Itachi hummed absently, apparently intent on mowing through his plate as quickly as possible.

Their mother smiled at her son for a moment, stubbornly cheerful, then settled her eyes on Sasuke. "And you? How was class today?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell her about the new cafeteria menu and how horrible it was, and his A+ on his math quiz, and the History Day competition was coming up and so he was thinking of doing his project on the Sixties. They'd watched a documentary on the Cold War and the narrative had arrested his attention, stringing him along every word until he'd been so immersed in the complex weave of political agendas and strategies, of escalatory incidents, he'd forgotten where he was. His father cut him off before he had a chance to speak.

"What have I said about speaking with food in your mouth, Sasuke?" he said tiredly. Sasuke snapped his jaw shut and masticated his food impatiently, brows drawn in concentration. He felt uneasy around his father. The attention spared him by the tall and serious man that his mother loved so much was usually brief, however, if pointed. Sasuke sometimes got the impression from his father that, somehow, they were running out of time. Like Sasuke had made a great mistake he couldn't remember and his father had taken it upon himself to guide the process of his atonement. And Sasuke, unfortunately, was not up to scratch.

His father had turned to Itachi. "Did you speak with your calculus instructor?"

Itachi was frowning, but he nodded. "Yes. He said that my current score on the practice AP exam qualifies me to advance to the next lesson series. They don't hold a class for it, so I'll be doing packets in the back while he teaches the regular class." He shrugged at his plate while their mother grinned widely. "They're putting it down as independent study on my transcript."

"That's wonderful!" Their mother reached across the table to pat Itachi's arm. "We're so proud of you," she beamed. Their father was silent, his mouth set into a characteristically neutral expression that usually meant he was more pleased than displeased.

"I hope this will eliminate the need for you to take that lesson series at university?" he asked. Itachi nodded, and at that moment their father afforded Itachi a firm squeeze to the shoulder. "Well done."

Itachi looked at Sasuke, who looked down at his plate.

* * *

Eventually Sasuke bites down hard enough on Naruto's lip that the other boy recoils, giving Sasuke the chance to grab his arm and march them to his room, away, anywhere that is not Itachi's room. He pushes Naruto in first, who proceeds to pull his shirt off and turn around. He's looking at Sasuke wildly, and Sasuke is so turned on it hurts. Towards the end, sitting through the conversation in the restaurant had gotten difficult. Sasuke is impatient, which is why he now pushes Naruto back onto the mattress and crawls over him. He fucking loves the way Naruto looks at him when they're like this.

Minutes later they have both been relieved of their clothing and he's thinking it's the way Naruto grips his hip, moans into his mouth with a hint of teeth. He is so taut and still beneath him. Sasuke moves back, then forward again. The sheets burn against him. Naruto's hair is a tangled mess over his brow, over the clearest eyes Sasuke has ever seen, watching him as he moves forward, then back again.

Sasuke's breath hitches and he presses his fingers into Naruto's ribs, the soft-hard skin underneath his nipples. He is so fucking lost in this. He bends and his lips slew roughly across Naruto's, and he licks at warm fat tongue, rough texture, a taste he thinks he's known all his life. Something moves inside him and he doesn't know, anymore, how he can possibly recover from this.

Naruto hitches his hips forward, begins the stern rhythm he's long been wanting. Sasuke grunts and can only keep up. He can hear the soft slap of skin.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what it was that made Itachi better. There was an angry little idea that had been forming in his head lately; that, well, he couldn't help it could he? The fact that Itachi was better than him. He thought that maybe it could be because his father helped Itachi more. He didn't think he was jealous, exactly, because spending time with his father was not something he enjoyed, but he did wonder if the reason he wasn't good enough to make his father pleased was not somehow his father's own fault.

Every time he entertained that thought, however, let alone contemplated the possibility of telling his mother, he was struck with a panic-terror and a mild paranoia that even thinking a bad thought portends bad things. Because he knew them to be true, the things his father said to him about self-discipline and strength and the paramount importance of never, never losing. There are different ways to lose, his father had told him once, and one must know which kind of loss is unacceptable. Sasuke hadn't understood, and he wondered if Itachi had been given the same speech and if he had understood. But what Sasuke did truly, completely understand was that in his father's eyes, failure was unacceptable. And so, he could not fail.

"Sasuke." He looked up. His father indicated the little-touched plate before Sasuke with a nod. Sasuke began to eat in earnest, stuffing an obscene amount of rice into his mouth and chewing furiously. It was sticky rice, milky and tepid. He heard a sigh from the head of the table.

"Sasuke," his mother said, in a long-suffering groan. She shook her head and leaned over to wipe a stray grain from his face with her napkin.

"Don't coddle him, Mikoto."

She smiled at Sasuke, and then at his father. "Oh come on," she said. "It's not like I've never wiped anything off your face."

Sasuke perked up, interested in what his father had to say to _that_, but Itachi elbowed him in the ribs and ticked his head towards Sasuke's untouched vegetables. Sasuke glanced up at his father, who was otherwise occupied with a laughing Mikoto, and hastily scraped the vegetables onto Itachi's plate. Itachi smirked and stabbed a white cube of squash with his chopstick, looking down at Sasuke before biting into it with a snappy, satisfied crunch.

Done reminding their father of the numerous facial hygiene services she had provided him with over the years, Mikoto turned back to Sasuke, smiling. She looked at his decidedly vegetable-free plate, looked at Itachi, and smirked just as he had. Itachi offered no acknowledgement. "So," she said, nudging Sasuke's leg under the table. "Who wants dessert?"

Later that night Sasuke was drifting between sheets, slowly embarking on a trip through ambiguous shadows and tall, tall trees, and there was a great stone wall and there was Itachi, tearing it down brick by brick with his hands and President Kennedy was giving a speech telling them all that it was going to be just _fine_, and then the mattress dipped and his father had a broad hand on his shoulder and was whispering something in Japanese, and it sounded like home.

* * *

Sasuke groans as he grinds down. Naruto moves his hands to the headboard, his shoulders sinewy and demanding in the sallow fluorescent light from the street lamp outside. Harsh breaths, louder than should be allowed, Sasuke thinks distractedly, fill the room. Back, forward again, the slowest roll of his hips. He can feel every cell. He doesn't know how he has breathed without this before. It's a new brilliant pattern, beating itself into the construct of his body. Just there. Perfect. He bites back a moan and grapples for a firmer grasp against the bed sheets and continues the relentless slam of this, of the overwhelming feel of Naruto.

_Naruto_. He's clenching beneath him, he can feel the sweat-slicked tendons of his thighs and then he's gripping Sasuke by the hair, tearing into him with a kiss as they ride it out. Sasuke screws shut his eyes and moans loudly, lewdly. He is left winded, panting into Naruto's mouth, bliss still tingling through his fingers, and in the pit of his body. He wonders which nerve clusters, exactly, are responsible for this all-encompassing fulfillment. He decides it doesn't matter and kisses Naruto. It's sloppy, and tired, and Sasuke wants to laugh. He does. Naruto's chest jumps beneath him in staccato and he knows he's laughing too. Sasuke rolls off and flops onto his back. He doesn't understand anything anymore.

"So," Naruto says, and knocks his ankle into Sasuke's shin. Sasuke looks down at their naked legs. Bodies. He knows it's probably all the pheromones clogging his neural pathways but he thinks his minor obsession with Naruto's body might be getting out of control. He waits and listens and tries to feel for any sentiment of alarm or stiff rejection at the idea. But he feels nothing, not today, except lazy amusement at the way Naruto is quietly freaking out next to him. He can hear him thinking. Naruto is pulling at Sasuke's hair again. "SO," Naruto says, again. Sasuke ignores him.

"So you're being really quiet," Naruto says after a few seconds. Sasuke turns to him and raises his brows expectantly, at which Naruto narrows his eyes, understanding lighting up his face with a grin. "You…you're fucking with me. _God_." He drops his head back on the pillow and continues to grin at the ceiling. "_Bastard_." Sasuke feels him shift again and then he feels the punch that Naruto throws at his shoulder. He's smiling widely, and Naruto is laughing so Sasuke punches him back and rolls over to sit on Naruto's stomach. He grabs Naruto's arms and Naruto lets him pin them to the bed.

"Don't tell me you want to cuddle," Sasuke says, looking down at Naruto and very much enjoying what he sees looking back through those eyes. Another grin is blooming over Naruto's face.

"Hell no. That would be weird."

"Hn." Sasuke bends forward so he can stare better. "But you're the weirdest person I know."

"I don't have a problem with that," Naruto says, and draws a knee up so Sasuke is sitting cradled in the v of his body. He's watching Sasuke's face, pupils flicking back and forth like he's looking for something.

"Stop," Sasuke whispers.

"Stop what?" Naruto whispers back.

"Thinking. I can hear it. It's annoying."

Naruto doesn't say anything for a second. Then he smiles. "Okay."

* * *

The next morning Sasuke is staring morosely at the machine spurt a burnt, sorry excuse for coffee into a stained jug. He's barefoot in the kitchen, and the tiles are cool and soothing. His lease is up in September, and he's not renewing. There's a place waiting for him in the city Itachi moved to and has lived in since it happened. He got accepted to the university his parents had picked out for him, the same one Itachi went to. And he doesn't particularly want to go but for the first time, he doesn't particularly not want to go either. For the first time, Sasuke realizes that if he goes it will be of his own choosing. And he has time. He has all the time in the world.

The coffee's done. Sasuke pours two mugs and makes his way into the living room, where Naruto is sitting in his boxers guffawing at the stand-up routine he's watching on Netflix. He looks up at the coffee mug Sasuke shoves in his face. "Hey," he says, grabbing it. "Thanks. Dude this guy's great, you gotta watch some with me."

Sasuke sips his coffee and moves around Naruto to sit on the armchair. The coffee is terrible. He's taking another sip, watching the show less than he's watching Naruto, when something glints in the corner of his eye. He looks down. It's the ring, peeking out innocently from underneath the chair. He stoops and picks it up. Holds it at eye level and remembers the way it would sit on his father's hand. All his life. He looks through it and realizes Naruto is staring at him, framed within the ring like he's at the far end of a telescope. Sasuke lowers his hand.

"Come with me," he says.

"What?" Naruto says.

"When I go. In September. Come with me."

Naruto doesn't say anything for a while. He sits back on the couch like he's just been punched.

"You can stay with me and Itachi. There's a city college you can enroll in."

Naruto grins, shakes his head. Looks at the window for some reason, before he looks back at Sasuke with a helpless expression. "It's not…that easy. Sasuke." His voice is unsure, which makes Sasuke unsure. He doesn't like the feeling.

"Tch," he says. He wants to walk out of the room, right now. But he's learned he can't walk out on Naruto, not really. He's actually incapable of it. So instead he folds a leg up onto the chair and stares at his toes. The audience is laughing on the television. He shouldn't have asked. He has been uprooted before, knows he will be able walk out of this apartment, this city, and never look back but Naruto is different. He _needs_ people. He collects people. They are everything to him, and Naruto is everything to Sasuke, and Sasuke doesn't know what to do about that. It scares him.

He looks up because Naruto has paused the show and is crouched in front of him. "Okay," he says, and he looks scared too, and kind of crazy, and Sasuke feels so fucking full of affection for Naruto it's painful.

"What?" he says.

"I'll go with you. In September."

Sasuke's brain seems to have been rear-ended. "What."

Naruto grins. "The look on your face is so awesome right now."

"What about Tsunade?" Sasuke asks. "Kiba? Gaara? Sakura? How are you going to deal with not having them around every day?" He doesn't know why he's fighting this.

Naruto frowns. "Kiba is moving upstate. I told you that. And Gaara gets weird if I hang out with him too much anyway. And Tsunade will be happy for me." He looks a little bashful. "I kind of, um, told her. About you and me. She doesn't know anything! Not really!" He's waving his hands, at the alarm that Sasuke presumes shot through his own expression. "But she knows how I. Feel about you. And well, uh, Sakura. It's going to suck. Yeah. "

Sasuke just stares at him.

"Do you want me to go or not? What the fuck?" Naruto is laughing at him. "You asked me."

Sasuke shakes his head to clear it. "I—" he stops, then clears his throat. "I just don't think you've thought this through."

Naruto grimaces. "I—look, I know it'll be hard. For me." He shrugs, gripping Sasuke's thigh and watching his thumb dig into Sasuke's skin. He meets Sasuke's gaze. "I know." And Sasuke can tell, he's serious.

"I don't think," Sasuke says, slowly and at his coffee mug, because he's choosing his words carefully and they are painful to say. "That if you came with me, and then decided you regretted it. I don't think I could—handle that. So don't—"

He looks up and Naruto looks like he's about to start crying or something, because he's scrunched his face up and is staring at the floor and then his eyes are back on Sasuke and he's saying, "Look it'll be hard for me, Sasuke, but what I'm trying to say is that about 30 seconds after you asked I knew I was going to go because, you don't think I haven't been going fucking crazy? These past few months? After I realized that you were moving away for college and that I would be stuck here in my fucking life, and you. Would be gone. I have been freaking the _fuck_ out, Sasuke." He lifts a hand and rests it on Sasuke's neck, and Sasuke leans closer to Naruto, witnessing the anxiety play out on his features. "So yeah. It'll be the hardest thing I've ever done, leaving everyone. But if the only other option is to not be with _you_. Then," he shrugs, and laughs. He's got that wild look again. "Then I'm going."

Sasuke swallows, and looks down at his coffee for long seconds he's struggling to count. "Well, good," he says. It's all he can manage. When he raises his head again the look on Naruto's face is so clear and intense he feels naked. He's afraid again, because he loves Naruto _so_ fucking much and it's taking over him in ways he doesn't think are possible to change back. And they're doing this.

"Yeah," Naruto says. "Good." And he stands up calmly. Sasuke is staring up at him and Naruto has been quiet for some time when he asks, "What are you going to do with the ring?" His voice is even, now. It's passed.

"I don't know," Sasuke says. Naruto shrugs.

"Okay. Whatever."

Sasuke finds himself, again, just staring. Which concerns him, so Sasuke takes a sip of his coffee instead. Which reminds him. "This coffee is fucking terrible."

Naruto just laughs, and runs his hand through Sasuke's hair, and stands there looking so pleased about everything that Sasuke can't help but smirk.

* * *

**END**

* * *

A/N: Been a while. Whoops. Tell me what you thought!


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